Overview
Haplogroup R-YP6099 is a substantial downstream branch under R-Y13200 and plays an important role in the paternal landscape of the Caucasus, the Balkans and parts of Anatolia. Its formation in the Bronze Age reflects the continuing diversification of R-Z2103 as steppe ancestry became embedded in populations of the Black Sea and Caucasus regions. YP6099 displays a distribution pattern that connects highland Caucasian groups, populations of eastern Anatolia and communities in the central and western Balkans. This pattern highlights its position as part of a migration corridor running from the Pontic steppe into the mountainous zones of the Caucasus and further into southeastern Europe. Many YP6099 subbranches show strong regional clustering in Armenia, Georgia and northern Turkey, suggesting long term continuity in these areas. In ancient DNA research, YP6099 related signatures appear in Bronze Age samples from the Caucasus and occasionally in Balkan contexts. The lineage likely participated in the demographic processes that brought steppe ancestry into the Armenian Highland and into early Iron Age societies of both the Caucasus and southeastern Europe. Its internal structure reflects multiple founder events spanning thousands of years.