Description
R1a-M417 is the most critical bottleneck and expansion node in the history of haplogroup R1a. Nearly all living carriers of R1a belong to this subclade, which arose approximately 5,500 years ago in the Pontic-Caspian steppe. It represents the core lineage of the Corded Ware and Yamnaya cultures, which carried Indo-European languages across Eurasia. M417 marks the point where R1a split into its two massive branches: the European Z282 and the Asian Z93.
Interesting Fact
The expansion of M417 is so explosive that its phylogenetic tree looks like a 'starburst', indicating a period of extremely rapid population growth linked to the adoption of mobile pastoralism and the wheel in the early Bronze Age.
Distribution by Ethnicity
| Ethnic distribution | Region | Frequency | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Europeans | Europe | — | |
| Central Asians | Central Asia | — | |
| South Asians (North) | South Asia | — |
Tags
References
- Underhill et al. (2015) — The phylogenetic and geographic structure of Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a. European Journal of Human Genetics.
- Haak et al. (2015) — Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe. Nature.