Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Some Great New Info Shared by Robert H.A. Sanders


photo

Y-DNA Haplogroup J2 M172 - Roman Empire

While it has been said before in forums, chats and websites on the internet that the J2 Frequency Map for Europe shows a resemblance to the borders of the Roman Empire, i have never seen an actual image comparing the two. I decided to make one for myself and upload it here. I used the current (2012) Eupedia.com J2 Frequency map and an image of the Roman Empire at its largest extent (about 117 AD). Eupedia.com tells us; "Romans surely helped spread haplogroup J2 across its borders, judging from the distribution of J2 within Europe (frequency over 5%) which bears an uncanny resemblance to the borders of the Roman Empire."
Rober H. A. Sanders




Our J2 Haplogroup passed from father to expanded in a pattern similar to the expansions of the Phoencians.


Y-DNA Haplogroup J2 M172, quotes & links. List compiled by R.H.A. Sanders, 2013. ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"In human genetics, Haplogroup IJ is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. Haplogroup IJ is a descendant branch of Haplogroup F-L15 which in turn derives from the greater Haplogroup F. Descendants are Haplogroup I and Haplogroup J." Haplogroup IJ   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_IJ 
 "Various episodes of population movement have affected southeast Europe, and the role of the Balkans as a longstanding gateway to Europe from the Near East is illustrated by the phylogenetic unification of Hgs I and J by the basal M429 mutation. This evidence of common ancestry suggests that ancestral IJ-M429* Y chromosomes probably entered Europe through the Balkan route sometime before the Last Glacial Maximum." 

Y-chromosomal evidence of the cultural diffusion of agriculture in southeast Europe. unipv.eu/on-line/Home/AreaStampa/documento2986.html 

"J-M172 can be classified as Greco-Anatolian, Mesopotamian and/or Caucasian and is linked to the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia. It was carried by Bronze Age immigrants to Europe, and ultimately descends from the Cro-Magnon population (IJ-M429 Y-DNA) that emerged in Southwest Asia around 35,000 years ago" 

Wikipedia.org - Haplogroup J2 M172.

"A 2004 study by Semino et al. contradicted this study, and showed that Italians in North-central regions (like Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna) had a higher concentration of J2 than their Southern counterparts. North-central had 26.9% J2, whereas Calabria (a far Southern region) had 20.0%, Sardinia had 9.7% and Sicily had 16.7%. This could be because of the ancient Etruscans, who some think originated in the Near East." Wikipedia.org - Genetic History of Italy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_Italy 
 
"From these comparisons, we found that haplogroup J2, in general, and six Y-STR haplotypes, in particular, exhibited a Phoenician signature that contributed > 6% to the modern Phoenician-influenced populations examined." 

Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean.
http://www.cell.com/AJHG/fulltext/S0002-9297(08)00547-8
 
The Neolithic control section shows nonsignificant results across all haplogroups, except for a significant J2 result in one test. The Phoenician-colony test results highlight only one haplogroup, J2, which consistently scores significantly in all three tests across the range of colonization sites. However, this haplogroup also scores significantly in Greek tests (as do some additional haplogroups), suggesting that the same haplogroup could have been spread by several expansions, which is unsurprising considering its frequency in the Eastern Mediterranean but implies that higher phylogenetic resolution is required for identification of Phoenician-specific signals." 


Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean.
http://www.cell.com/AJHG/fulltext/S0002-9297(08)00547-8
 
"In addition to Hg J-M410, Hg G-P15 chromosomes, which are also common in Anatolia,29 have been implicated in the colonization and subsequent expansion of early farmers in Crete, the Aegean and Italy.38,46 - 48 Earlier studies  have concluded that the J-M410 sub-clades, J-DYS445-6 and J-M67, are linked to the spread of farming in the Mediterranean Basin,38,47 with a likely origin in Anatolia.29 Interestingly, J-DYS445-6 and J-M92 (a sub-lineage of M67), both have expansion times between 7000 and 8000 years ago (Table 1), consistent with the dating of the arrival of the first farmers to the Balkans." Y-chromosomal evidence of the cultural diffusion of agriculture in southeast Europe. http://www.unipv.eu/on-line/Home/AreaStampa/documento2986.html

"Regarding Hg J-M12/M102, which is discernable from India to Europe, the M12/M102* chromosomes display a very high YSTR diversity, whereas on the other hand, the J-M241 sub-lineage has low diversity in the Balkans, indicating different demographic histories. Although Hg J-M241 shows high variance in India, its place of origin is still uncertain. As J-M241 has older expansion times in Sicily, Apulia and Turkey, it may have arrived in the Balkans from elsewhere." Y-chromosomal evidence of the cultural diffusion of agriculture in southeast Europe. http://www.unipv.eu/on-line/Home/AreaStampa/documento2986.html

"The PC analysis, from the perspective of population Hg frequencies, reveals a tight cluster of populations not comprising southern Balkan and Caucasian groups. Common to this cluster are lower frequencies of Hgs, G-M201 and J-M410, and higher frequencies of Hgs, I-M423, E-V13 and J-M241. Whereas the first two are primarily Middle Eastern Hgs and have been shown to be associated with the early Neolithic colonization of Crete, Italy and southern Caucasus, I-M423, E-V13 and J-M241, in spite of parallel Balkan patterns of distribution, have clearly different origins." Y-chromosomal evidence of the cultural diffusion of agriculture in southeast Europe. http://www.unipv.eu/on-line/Home/AreaStampa/documento2986.html
 
"The majority of the Balkan Hg J Y chromosomes belong to the J-M172 sub-Hg and range from 2% to 20%. Both its main branches, J-M410 and J-M12/M102*, were observed; although the first is scattered in different sub-clades (J-M67, J-M92 and J-DYS445-6) with distinct local patterns, the second is most represented by J-M241." Y-chromosomal evidence of the cultural diffusion of agriculture in southeast Europe. http://www.unipv.eu/on-line/Home/AreaStampa/documento2986.html
 
"Occurrence of J2-M172 Y-chromosomes in Tuscany has been related to the Etruscan heritage of the region." Uniparental Markers of Contemporary Italian Population Reveals Details on Its Pre-Roman Heritage. http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050794

"There is a distinct association of ancient J2 civilisations with bull worship. The oldest evidence of a cult of the bull can be traced back to Neolithic central Anatolia, notably at the sites of Çatalhöyük and Alaca Höyük. Bull depictions are omnipresent in Minoan frescos and ceramics in Crete. Bull-masked terracotta figurines and bull-horned stone altars have been found in Cyprus (dating back as far as the Neolithic, the first presumed expansion of J2 from West Asia)." The Sacred Bull.
http://aratta.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/the-sacred-bull/

"The most frequent haplogroups among the current population on Crete were: R1b3-M269 (17%), G2-P15 (11%), J2a1-DYS413 (9.0%), and J2a1h-M319 (9.0%). They identified J2a parent haplogroup J2a-M410 (Crete: 25.9%) with the first ancient residents of Crete during the Neolithic (8500 BCE - 4300 BCE) suggesting Crete was founded by a Neolithic population expansion from ancient Turkey/Anatolia." 
The Minoans, DNA and all. http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/the-minoans-dna-and-all/

"We reconstructed the genetic structure of the Levantines and found that a pre-Islamic expansion Levant was more genetically similar to Europeans than to Middle Easterners." Genome-Wide Diversity in the Levant Reveals Recent Structuring by Culture.

"23andMe has a Y chromosome marker on its custom chip, rs34126399, which captures the spread of agriculture from the Near East to Europe. The G state at rs34126399 is found in most individuals carrying paternal haplogroup J2a, whose origin can ultimately be traced to Turkey 15,000 to 20,000 years ago." The Origin of Farming in Europe: A View from the Y Chromosome. http://blog.23andme.com/23andme-and-you/genetics-101/the-origin-of-farming-in-europe-a-view-from-the-y-chromosome/

"The authors found a weak - but significant - genetic signature among their samples that could not be explained by chance. Many of the samples belonged to a very specific branch of haplogroup J2, which the authors believe points back to distinct migrations by Phoenician traders from the Middle East into Europe and North Africa more than 3,000 years ago." Ripples in the Mediterranean: Tracing the Genetic Origins of the Phoenicians.

"R1b3 frequency was found to be higher in the northern part of the country, while the Y-chromosome haplogroups G and E3b1, J2 and I(xI1b2) frequencies were higher in the south and in the central part of the country, respectively."
Uniparental Markers of Contemporary Italian Population Reveals Details on Its Pre-Roman Heritage. http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0050794

"Bulgarian DNA profile is congruent with those described for most European populations. Almost the entire Bulgarian mtDNA pool is made up of West Eurasian lineages, with just 0.9% of Eastern Asian lineages. It is a similar picture from Y-chromosome haplogroups. About 80% of the total genetic variation in Bulgarians falls within haplogroups E-M35, I-M170, J-M172, R-M17 and R-M269, all found elsewhere in Europe." 
Bulgarians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarians

"Haplogroup J2 is most common in Southern Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, were it may have originated 18.000 years ago. It appears to have spread into Europe in a number of waves over the course of millennia." 23andme.com, 2013. https://www.23andme.com/

"It has been plausibly suggested that M172 may be associated with the arrival of neolithic farmers from the Fertile Crescent who were the probable predecessors of the Indo-European society which later emerged in western Asia, a "hypothetical" society whose culture and language greatly influenced prehistoric peoples from India to Ireland." Genetics & Anthropology in Sicily.

"Haplogroups E1b1b and J in Europe are regarded as markers of movements from southeastern Europe to northwestern and therefore as a potential markers of introduced technology such as farming." Genetic history of the British Isles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_history_of_the_British_Isles

"J-M172, which occurs as frequently as J-M267 in some Middle Eastern populations, is the more prevalent in Europe." Origin Diffusion and Differentation Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and Jhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1181965/

"The J-M67*, JM92, and J-M102 representatives reflect more distinctive origins and dispersal patterns. Whereas J-M67* and J-M92 show higher frequencies and variances in Europe (0.40 and 0.32, respectively) and in Turkey (0.32 and 0.30, respectively [Cinniog˘ lu et al. 2004]) than in the Middle East (0.17 and 0.09, respectively), J-M12(M102) shows its maximum frequency in the Balkans." Origin Diffusion and Differentation Y-Chromosome Haplogroups E and Jhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1181965/

"The diversity within J2 is lower in the Middle East (0.43 ±0.11) compared with both Turkey (0.60±0.07) and the European locations (0.67±0.02)." Y chromosomal haplogroup J as a signature of the post-neolithic colonization of Europe. http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/HaploJ.pdf
 "Based on previously published data (Scozzari et al. 2001; Di Giacomo et al. 2004; Semino et al. 2004; Marjanovic et al. 2005), we observed that another haplogroup, J-M12, shows a frequency distribution within Europe similar to that observed for E-V13."
Tracing past human male movements in northern/eastern Africa and western Eurasia. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2007/03/10/molbev.msm049.full.pdf+html

We favor the emergence of J2f1 in the Aegean area, possibly during the population expansion phase also
detected by Malaspina et al. (2001) and coincident with the expansion of the Greek world to the European coast of the Black sea."
Y chromosomal haplogroup J as a signature of the post-neolithic colonization of Europe. http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/HaploJ.pdf

"The M172 marker defines a major subset of M304, which arose from the M89 lineage. It is found today in North Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. In southern Italy it occurs atfrequencies of 20 percent, and in southern Spain, 10 percent of the population carries this marker. Both M304 and its subgroup M172 are found at a combined frequency of around 30 percent amongst Jewish individuals. The early farming successes of these lineages spawned population booms and encouraged migration throughout much of the Mediterranean world." National Geographic - Genographic Project, 2011. https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/

"J2-M172 is more prevalent in Europe where at least five different lineages can be traced--J2e*-M102, J2e1-M241, J2*-M172, J2f*-M67, and J2f1-M92 (fig. 2, Semino et al. 2004)." High-Resolution Phylogenetic Analysis of Southeastern Europe Traces Major Episodes of Paternal Gene Flow Among Slavic Populations. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/10/1964.full

"The finding that five major haplogroups (E3b1, I1-P37 (xM26), J2, R1a, and R1b) comprise more than 70% of SEE total genetic variation is consistent with the typical European Y chromosome gene pool." Implications of the role of Southeastern Europe in the origins and diffusion of major Eurasian paternal lineages. http://arheologija.ff.uni-lj.si/documenta/pdf36/36_6.pdf

"Anthropologist Carleton S. Coon is quoted as saying The Iraqi population is without doubt much the same today as it was in Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian times. The Iraqi people are a Caucasian people. It has been found that Y-DNA Haplogroup J2 originated in northern Iraq (Ancient Assyria)." Wikipedia.com - Archeogenetics of the Near East. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeogenetics_of_the_Near_East

"Romans surely helped spread haplogroup J2 across its borders, judging from the distribution of J2 within Europe (frequency over 5%) wich bears an uncanny resemblance to the borders of the Roman Empire." Eupedia.com , 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"It has been proposed that haplogroup subclade J-M410 was linked to populations on ancient Crete by examining the relationship between Anatolian, Cretan, and Greek populations from around early Neolithic sites in Crete." Wikipedia.org - Haplogroup J2 M172.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_J-M172_(Y-DNA)

"The world`s maximum concentrations of J2a is in Crete (32% of the population). The subclade J2a4d (M319) appears to be native to Crete." 
Eupedia.com 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"Haplogroup J-M12 was associated with Neolithic Greece (ca. 8500 - 4300 BCE) and was reported to be found in modern Crete (3.1%) and mainland Greece (Macedonia 7.0%, Thessaly 8.8%, Argolis 1.8%) (King 2008)." 
Wikipedia.org - Haplogroup J2 M172.
"When looking at the diffusion of Haplogroup J2a, M410, westward into Europe, one aspect of this westward spread becomes quite clear. M410+ ancestors used a maritime and coastal route to move west."
M172 Blog - Pronounced Westward Maritime Diffusion of J2a (M410), 2008.

"Dr. King also notes an interesting correlation with a subclade of Haplogroup J2, M67, and place names in the Aegean, Balkans and Italy while citing a deeper origin for subclade M67 in Northern Syria or southern Anatolia. The age and spread of M67 seems associated with proto-greek substratum in the Aegean."
M172 Blog - Neolithic Migrations in the Near East and Aegean, 2009.

"Quite a few ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilisations flourished in territories where J2 lineages were preponderant. This is the case of the Hattians, the Hurrians, the Etruscans, the Minoans, the Greeks, the Phoenicians (and their Carthagian offshoot), the Israelites, and to a lower extend extent also the Romans, the Assyrians and the Persians. All great seafaring civilisations from the middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age were dominated by J2 men." Eupedia.com - Haplogroup J2.
"While noting that multiple haplogroups are likely involved in the spread of languages through the middle east, Dr. King noted a correlation between very old Middle Eastern languages of uncertain origin and Haplogroup J2 while at the same time theorizing that Haplogroup J1 may have been involved in spreading Semitic languages through the region. These old languages possibly linked to J2 are known to have existed in Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant and this substratum is sometimes referred to as "Banana" languages due to their syllabic duplication." M172 Blog - Neolithic Migrations in the Near East and Aegean, 2009.

"Both E-V13 and J-M12 have also been used in studies seeking to find evidence of a remaining Greek presence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, going back to the time of Alexander the Great." 
Wikipedia.org - Haplogroup E V-68. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E-V68_(Y-DNA)

"A genetic study published led by Firasat (2007) on Kalash individuals found high and diverse frequencies of :Haplogroup L3a (22.7%), H1* (20.5%), R1a (18.2%), G (18.2%), J2 (9.1%), R* (6.8%), R1* (2.3%), and L* (2.3%).[39] Haplogroup L, Haplogroup H, and Haplogroup R1a are thought to have originated from prehistoric South Asia." 
Wikipedia.org - Kalash People.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalash_people
 
"The sister clade to J2a-M410 is J2b-M12. In India and Pakistan, all J2b members comprise the J2b2-M241 derivative HG." Polarity and Temporality of High-Resolution Y-Chromosome Distributions in India Identify Both Indigenous and Exogenous Expansions and Reveal Minor Genetic Influence of Central Asian Pastoralists.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1380230/

"Lastly, HG J2b2-M241-related microsatellite variance is higher in Uttar Pradesh near the border of Nepal. It should be noted that numerous Mesolithic sites have been observed in this region (Kennedy 2000)." 
Polarity and Temporality of High-Resolution Y-Chromosome Distributions in India Identify Both Indigenous and Exogenous Expansions and Reveal Minor Genetic Influence of Central Asian Pastoralists.

"J2b has a quite different distribution from J2a. J2b seems to have a stronger association with the Chalcolithic cultures of Southeast Europe, and is particulary common in the Balkans, Central Europe and Italy, which is roughly the extent of the European Copper Age culture" Eupedia.com 2013 http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"J2a is also present in Egypt which was conquered by Macedonian Greeks, as well as Iran, but drops to a small frequency in India, and is there limited to the upper castes. This may reflect its presence in the ancient Indo-Aryans and its survival in the Brahmin caste, or alternatively may be the result of intermarriage between the Bactrian Greek aristocracy and high-class Hindus" Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2005. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2005/12/did-haplogroup-j2a1-originate-in.html

"Haplogroup J2a-M410 is confined to upper caste Dravidian and Indo-European speakers, with little occurrence in the middle and lower castes." 
Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2005. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2005/11/new-paper-on-indian-y-chromosome.html 
"The J2 clade is nearly absent among Indian tribals, except among Austro-Asiatic speaking tribals (11%). Among the Austro-Asiatic tribals, the predominant J2b2 hg occurs only in the Lodha." 
Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2005. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2005/11/new-paper-on-indian-y-chromosome.html

"One fourth of the Vlach people (isolated communities of Romance language speaking peoples in the Balkans) belong to J2, which, combined to the fact that they speak a language descended from latin, suggests that they could have had a greater part of Roman (italian) ancestry than other ethnic groups in the Balkans." Eupedia.com 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"The remaining two haplogroups, J2 and E3b, exhibit spotty frequencies in Russians, expected for low-frequency haplogroups. The haplogroups might have arrived to Russia alongside I1b from the Balkans, in which the two are frequent." Two Sources of the Russian Patrilineal Heritage in Their Eurasian Context. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707000250

"Sicily has one of the highest frequencies of Haplogroup J2 (M172) in the mediterranean. J2-M172 made up 33% of the Y chromosome signatures on the island and was non-randomly distributed occurring at higher frequencies in the eastern areas of the island. This distinction was evident in the subclades, M67 and M92, which have previously been linked to Greek and proto-greek colonization. Both M67 and M92 were twice as frequent on the eastern portion of Sicily which displays more archaelogical traces from the Greek classic era. Even the paragroup of undistinguished J2 haplotypes (M172) was more than twice as frequent in Eastern Sicily." M172 Blog - Y Chromosomes of Sicily, 2008. http://m172.blogspot.nl/2008/11/y-chromosomes-of-sicily.html

"In turn, two distinct haplogroups, J2a1h-M319 and J2a1b1-M92, had demographic properties consistent with Bronze Age expansions to Crete, arguably from NW/W Anatolia and Syro-Palestine, while a later mainland (Mycenaean) contribution to Crete was indicated by the presence of of V13." Implications of the role of Southeastern Europe in the origins and diffusion of major Eurasian paternal lineages. http://arheologija.ff.uni-lj.si/documenta/pdf36/36_6.pdf

"The Neolithic component in the SEE paternal gene pool is most clearly marked by the presence of the J-M241 (more frequent in the Southern Balkans) lineage, and its expansion signals associated with Balkan microsatellite variation correlate with the Neolithic period." Implications of the role of Southeastern Europe in the origins and diffusion of major Eurasian paternal lineages. http://arheologija.ff.uni-lj.si/documenta/pdf36/36_6.pdf

"Within India, J2a is more common among the upper castes and decreases in frequency with the cast level." 
Eupedia.com, 2013 http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"There is a distinct association of ancient J2 civilisations with bull worship" Eupedia.com 2013 http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml 
"In all likelihood, J2a1 originated before the ethnogenesis of the Greeks, and may be associated with multiple population movements from the Greek-Balkan region. However, I believe that it makes better sense to view it as a Balkan-Greek clade than a West-Asian one." 
Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2005. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2005/12/did-haplogroup-j2a1-originate-in.html

"The higher frequency of J2 in southern Italy and Sicily compared to northern Italy, is also explained by this theory, as these regions were colonized by Greeks, whereas northern Italy was not." Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2005. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2005/12/did-haplogroup-j2a1-originate-in.html
 
"The propagation of J2b and E V-13 correspond roughly to the ancient Greek and Roman spheres of influence." Eupedia.com, 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml

"The ancient Greeks and Phoenicians were the main driving forces behind the spread of J2 around the western and southern Mediterranian" 
Eupedia.com, 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml

"Wine making spread to Crete during the Minoan period and then later to Italy with the Etruscans and to Iberia with the Phoenicians. It was an integral component of the economy and social culture of the proto-greek civilizations and the phoenicians who both went on to settle other mediterranean coastal regions. And tracing the spread of Viticulture from its origins to its spread before the Roman period, we can see te highest levels of Haplogroup J2 today correlate with the geographical centres of all these civilizations. While viticulture may not represent the first wave of M172 migrants to Europe, M172 certainly played a strong role in bringing Viticulture to Europe with such civilizations as the Minoans, Greeks and Phoenicians."
M172 Blog - Correlations in the spread of Viticulture and Haplogroup J2, 2008.

"Haplogroup J2b-M12 was frequent in Thessaly and Greek Macedonia while haplogroup J2a-M410 was scarce. Alternatively, Crete, like Anatolia showed a high frequency of J2a-M410 and a low frequency of J2b-M12" Differential Y-chromosome Anatolian Influences on the Greek and Cretan Neolithic, 2008. http://www.atlascom.gr/HELLENIC_DNA_PAPER.PDF

"Di Giacomo stressed the role of post-Neolithic migratory phenomenon, specifically that of the Ancient Greeks, as also being important in the dispersal of haplogroup J-M172." 
Wikipedia.org - Haplogroup J2 M172. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_J-M172_(Y-DNA)

"According to Di Giacomo's (2004) study, the high diversity of haplogroup J2 in Turkish and southern European populations suggests that this branch of haplogroup J originated around the Aegean, not the Middle East. Additionally, it appears that much of J2 was confined to the coastal Mediterranean areas, indicating that maritime trade, rather than earlier Neolithic agricultural expansions, may have helped spread J2 throughout the Mediterranean world." A reassessment of Jewish DNA Evidence.

"The two haplogroups most strongly associated with Albanian people (E-V13 and J2b) are often considered to have arrived in Europe from the Near East with the Neolithic revolution or late Mesolithic, early in the Holocene epoch. From here in the Balkans, it is thought, they spread to the rest of Europe." Wikipedia.org - Origins of the Albanians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Albanians

"Y-Dna haplogroups are found at the following frequencies in Malta : R1 (35.55% including 32.2% R1b), J (28.90% including 21.10% J2), I (12.20%), E (11.10% including 8.9% E1b1b), F (6.70%), K (4.40%), P (1.10%).[23] Haplogroup R1 , E1b1b, J2 and I are typical in European populations. J1, K, F haplogroups consist of lineages with differential distribution within Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The low percentages of J1 are similar to the Sicilian population, suggesting common ancestry with Sicilians and negligible genetic input from both North Africa and the Middle East." Wikipedia.org - Maltese People. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_people

"Timur Serdar and Demircin Sema authored a recent study on the Y chromosomes of Antalya, which is located on the southern coast of Anatolia. Haplogroup J2 was most frequent in this study of 75 unrelated males found at a frequency of 26.6%. The J2 data was consistent with an earlier study by Cinnioglu et al which found 24% J2 in southern Anatolia. Haplogroup T (K* in the study) was next most frequent at 13.3% and this data differed from Cinnioglu's data which found only 3.3% Haplogroup K in southern Anatolia. The first record of Antalya was as Attalia, a greek city founded approximately 150BC by Attalos II, King of Pergamon."
M172 Blog - Haplogroup J2, M172 in Antalya, Turkish Republic, 2009.

"In 2004, two geneticists educated at Harvard University and leading scientists of the National Geographic Genographic Project, Dr. Pierre Zalloua and Dr. Spencer Wells, identified "the haplogroup of the Phoenicians" as haplogroup J2, with avenues open for future research." Familypedia.com - Phoenicia. http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/Phoenicia

"Di Giacomo's (2004) study emphasized that J2 is "Mediterranean" or "Aegean" rather than "Semitic" in character. It is found predominately in northern Mediterranean and Turkish populations, differentiating the Aegean area from the Middle East in its haplogroup J results. Going further, the researchers maintained that certain sub-clades of J2 appear to have originated well after the beginning of the Neolithic revolution and around the Aegean, spreading out to the rest of Europe during the expansion of the Greek world. It is this final idea - that much of J2 is European in origin rather than Middle Eastern - that complicates the interpretation of Jewish J2 results. Sub-clade J-M102* originated in the southern part of the Balkans and is generally absent in Middle Eastern populations (Semino et al. 2004). Ashkenazim have a 1.2% frequency of J-M102 and Sephardim have 2.4%. These results argue in favor of European gene flow into the Jewish community." A reassessment of Jewish DNA Evidence.

"The strong western (-0.82) but weak southern (-0.37) orientation of J2 is unexpected if J2 came to Germany from the Balkans, but is consistent with a maritime mode of propagation of this haplogroup. Interestingly, the J2 frequencies in French (5-17.3%), Dutch (6.2%) and Belgian (5.0%) samples all exceed the German average (4.0%), so they are probably consistent with this interpretation. We really need to differentiate between J2a and J2b clades in this area, since J2a may hold the promise of reflecting maritime colonization (as its high frequency in coastal and island southern Europe suggests) or Roman descendants, while J2b may hold the signal of an expansion out of the Balkan area." Dienekes Anthropology Blog, 2008. http://dienekes.blogspot.nl/2008/04/haplogroup-correlations-in-germans.html

"In deze studie wordt een tot nu toe niet bekende concentratie van de haplogroepen J in oostelijk Brabant aangetroffen. Het betreft hier voornamelijk J2 en oude, gevestigde families. Het is niet onmogelijk dat hier sprake is van families van nazaten van ´Romeinse´soldaten. Ook in het grensgebied van Engeland en Schot+and is een concentratie van J2 families gevonden. In dat gebied zijn ook resten van tempels van de Iraanse god Mitras bekend en blijkt er een boogschuttereenheid uit het Midden/Oosten gelegerd geweest te zijn. Romeinse aanwezigheid in het land van Cuijck en aan de randen van de Peel (de naam is afkomstig van de naam die de Romeinen aan het gied gaven: Locus Paludosus ofwel moerassige streek) is bekend, zoals ook landmetingen van militairen die zich er gevestigd hadden en landbouw bedreven." Project Genetische Genealogie in Nederland.  http://www.barjesteh.nl/DNAproject.htm

"IE-speaking Iranians have largely the same haplogroups as Arabs, but a much higher representation of haplogroup J2 compared to J1. The converse is true for all Arabs except the Lebanese. But, we do know, that even in Lebanon itself,  Muslims have a higher J1/J2 ratio than Christians, and Islam was the main vehicle of Arabization in the region. The Christians are descended from the pre-Arab Byzantine Greco-Aramaic populations." Coastal-inland differences in Y chromosomes of the Levant.

"Results derived from analysis of the non-recombining portion of the Y- chromosomes (NRY) produced, at least initially, similar gradients to the classic demic diffusion hypothesis. Two significant studies were Semino 2000 and Rosser 2000, which identified Haplogroup J2 and E1b1b (formerly E3b) as the putative genetic signatures of migrating Neolithic farmers from Anatolia, and therefore represent the Y-chromosomal components of a Neolithic demic diffusion. This association was strengthened when King and Underhill (2002) found that there was a significant correlation between the distribution of Hg J2 and Neolithic painted pottery in European and Mediterranean sites."
Wikipedia.com - Neolithic Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic_Europe

"The Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans all contributed to the presence of J2a in Iberia. The particulary strong frequency of J2a and other Near Eastern haplogroups (J1, E1b1b, T) in the south of the Iberian peninsula, suggest that the Phoenicians and the Carthagians played a more decisive role than other peoples." 
Eupedia.com, 2013. http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_J2_Y-DNA.shtml

"This lineage originated in the northern portion of the Fertile Crescent where it later spread throughout central Asia, the Mediterranean, and south into India. As with other populations with Mediterranean ancestry this lineage is found within Jewish populations."
FamilytreeDNA - SNP Certificate (Haplogroup J2). http://www.familytreedna.com/

"Because of your J2a1b association, it's possible your ancestors may have been members of populations which specifically expanded from Anatolia to the Greek island of Crete between 8500 and 4300 BC." Ancestry.com - Paternal Ancestry Certificate.

"The J2 haplogroup can be found in today's populations with notable frequency in Italy, Iberia, Turkey, Albania, Greece and even India, and most likely interacted with numerous cultures, including the Greeks and Romans."
Ancestry.com - Paternal Ancestry Certificate.

"Previously, the presence of Haplogroups J, E3b, and G among Jews was interpreted as additional evidence of Middle Eastern or Israelite ancestry in much the same fashion as the Cohanim Modal Haplotype. However, recent studies demonstrate that their origin is uncertain. Unfortunately, misinformation about these haplogroups continues to pervade the public and media. Haplogroup E3b is often incorrectly described as African, leaving a misimpression regarding the origin and complex history of this haplogroup. Haplogroup J2, as previously discussed, is often incorrectly equated with J1 and described as Jewish or  Semitic, despite the fact that it is present in a variety of non-Jewish Mediterranean and Northern European populations."
A reassessment of Jewish DNA Evidence.

"The unique colonization pattern of the Phoenicians and the isolation of some of their colonies (Ibiza, Sardinia, Malta) have made it easy to identify their genetic signature. The Phoenician population was already very mixed 3000 years ago : E-V22, J1, J2, J2a4b, J2a4b1, G2a, R1a and R1b1a. E-V22 and R1b1a are quite specific to Levantines (Syrians, Lebanese, Druzes, Jews, Palestinians)."
Eupedia.com - Y-DNA haplogroups of ancient civilizations. http://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads/25163-Y-DNA-haplogroups-of-ancient-civilizations

"From about 700 BCE, the Etruscans settled around Tuscany and the Greeks in southern Italy. Etruscans probably came from Palestine and brought haplogroups J1, J2 and E with them. The Greeks in Italy were Doric and brought J2, E, G2a and probably more R1b (see above). The Romans progressively absorbed the Etruscans and Italian Greeks and mixed with them. By the time of Julius Caesar Roman citizens were probably composed of 45% of R1b, 20% of J, 15% of E, 15% of G2a and 5% of I2a." Eupedia.com - Y-DNA haplogroups of ancient civilizations. http://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads/25163-Y-DNA-haplogroups-of-ancient-civilizations

"Haplogroup J2 frequency has been correlated with aspects of the symbolic material culture of the Neolithic in Europe and the Near East (painted pottery and ceramic figurines) and sub-Haplogroups of J2 have also been associated with the Neolithic colonization of mainland Greece, Crete and southern Italy."
The coming of the Greeks to Provence and Corsica: Y-chromosome models of archaic Greek colonization of the western Mediterranean.

"Previous Y-chromosome genetic studies of Phoenician colonization have demonstrated that haplogroup J2 frequency was amplified in regions containing the Phoenician colonies of Iberia and North Africa in comparison to areas not containing Phoenician colonies."
The coming of the Greeks to Provence and Corsica: Y-chromosome models of archaic Greek colonization of the western Mediterranean.

"Many people new to Genetic Genealogy think the J2 haplogroup is synonymous with having male Jewish ancestry. One should note that having a J2 haplogroup assignment does not necessarily indicate Jewish ancestry. The J2 haplogroup is far more ancient than the Jewish religion and is found in many lines with Mediterranean region ancient ancestry. Another relatively more recent mode for J2's entry into some parts of Europe from the Mediterranean areas could have been the Roman Legions and Roman settlements."
Worldfamilies.net - Y-DNA Haplogroups. http://www.worldfamilies.net/yhaplogroups

"Sicily is an island which had well-documented and not insignificant settlements by both Greeks and Phoenicians. Moreover, these settlements were geographically divided: Greeks in the East, Phoenicians in the West. It is in the East that J2 has its highest frequency, and not in the Phoenician West."
"From these comparisons, we found that haplogroup J2, in general, and six Y-STR haplotypes, in particular, exhibited a Phoenician signature that contributed > 6% to the modern Phoenician-influenced populations examined. Our methodology can be applied to any historically documented expansion in which contact and noncontact sites can be identified."
Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean.

"This blog is dedicated to those who carry the J2 "Y" DNA Haplogroup, with a focus on J2a4h2, also known as J-L25. Our "Y" Chromosome is inherited from father to son. Our paternal ancestors will also have the same signature. "J2 originated in northern Mesopotamia, and spread westward to Anatolia and southern Europe, and eastward to Persia and India. J2 is related to the Ancient Etruscans, (Minoan) Greeks, southern Anatolians, Phoenicians, Assyrians and Babylonians."
J2a4h Blog -  J2a4h2 YHaplogroup J-L25 DNA.
http://j2a4h2.blogspot.nl/2012/04/haplogroup-j2-y-dna.html

"Haplogroup J2 among Jews has been erroneously interpreted in the past as exclusively Israelite or Middle Eastern in origin. Among Ashkenazim, J2 occurs among 23.2% of the population, while Sephardim have 28.6% (Semino et al. 2004). While these percentages are nearly identical to Iraqi (22.4%) and Lebanese (25%) groups, they are also comparable to Greek (20.6%), Georgian (26.7%), Albanian (19.6%), Italian (20-29%), and to a lesser extent, French Basque (13.6%) populations (Semino et al. 2004)."
A reassessment of Jewish DNA Evidence.

"Haplogroup J is mostly found in South-East Europe, especially in central and southern Italy, Greece and Romania. It is also common in France, and in the Middle East. It is related to the Ancient Romans, Greeks and Phoenicians (J2), as well as the Arabs and Jews (J1). Subclades J2a and J2a1b1 are found mostly in Greece, Anatolia and southern Italy, and are associated with the Ancient Greeks." Romanian History and Culture. http://romanianhistoryandculture.webs.com/modernromaniansydna.htm

"This lineage originated in the northern portion of the Fertile Crescent where it later spread throughout central Asia, the Mediterranean, and south into India. J2 is found in Britain, but rarely. It is most common in Eastern European countries, leading to speculation that it is either from gypsy background or, possibly, from Eastern European soldiers stationed in Britain during the Roman occupation in the first three centuries AD."
Scotland DNA Project.

"J2 has been traced back to the area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that comprises territory in northwestern Iraq and Iran, eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. One theory offered for the presence of J2 in northern England is the presence of Roman auxiliary soldiers stationed on Hadrian's Wall. It has been suggested that the original J2 ancestor of our Robson member may have been a Sarmatian horseman in the Roman legions." Robson/Robeson/Robison Family DNA Project (Haplogroup J2).

"The very name "Van Santen" means "from" or "of" Santen. The only Santen found (now known as "Xanten") is an ancient walled German town with a strong Roman history, at one time strategically located on the Rhine river (the river has since altered course somewhat). My genealogy is well-documented to the early 1500's from where my earliest known ancestor had settled by the 16th Century, near the mouth of the same Rhine river, and the furthest west one could have gone short of crossing the channel to England."
Van Santen DNA Project (Haplogroup J2).

"J2 - This haplogroup originated during the Neolithic in Central Asia, and spread across the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It may have been brought to Britain by prehistoric farmers, Greek or Phoenician traders and Sephardic Jews among the Normans and the Flemish - as well as by Roman troops and settlers."
Elliot (And border receivers) DNA Project (Haplogroup J2).

"Research conducted by the administrators of the Border Reivers DNA Project has identified numerous haplotypes in persons of British descent that show Haplotype 35 markers. Moreover, most of these haplotypes appear to originate from areas of Britain near the Antonine Wall, Hadrian's Wall and other places of Roman fortification or settlement. These areas include Galloway, Dumfries, Ayrshire and The Borders in Scotland, and Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. Many of the Roman troops stationed in these areas came from Southeastern Europe or Western Asia. They included Sarmatians, Dacians, Goths, Syrians, Mesopotamians, Thracians and Anatolians. The Capelli study has shown that these areas also exhibit higher than average frequencies of haplogroups E3b and J2, neither of which is native to Britain. E3b is found most commonly in North Africa, Iberia, the Mediterranean and the Near East, and J2 occurs most frequently in the Near East, the Mediterranean and Western Asia. The fact that all three groups - E3b, J2 and Haplotype 35 - have a similar origin in territories of the Roman Empire, and occur at comparable frequencies in parts of Britain with a known history of Roman settlement, suggests that they arrived in Britain through the same means." Elliot (And border receivers) DNA Project (Haplogroup J2) - Haplogroup R1b (Haplotype 35). http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gallgaedhil/haplo_r1b_ht35_analysis.htm

"In human genetics, Haplotype 35, also called ht35 or the Armenian Modal Haplotype, is a Y chromosome haplotype of Y-STR microsatellite variations, associated with the Haplogroup R1b. It is characterized by DYS393=12 (as opposed to the Atlantic Modal Haplotype, another R1b haplotype, which is characterized by DYS393=13). The members of this haplotype are found in high numbers in Anatolia and Armenia, with smaller numbers throughout Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucus Mountains, and in Jewish populations. They are also present in Britain in areas that were found to have a high concentration of Haplogroup J, suggesting they arrived together, perhaps through Roman soldiers." Haplotype 35. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplotype_35

"Haplogroup J2 is the most common one today in the Middle East, but is found to some extent in adjacent regions. The bulk of J2 may have been brought to Britain by mercenaries recruited by the Romans."
Family Banks DNA Project (Haplogroup J2). https://sites.google.com/site/banksprojectsite/the-j-p215-groups 
"We now have two members of Haplogroup J1 and 6 members of Haplogroup J2 in the Fox Poject. This is a Mediterranean Haplogroup but exists all over Europe to some extent. The Romans are thought to have brought this Haplogroup to Britain." Fox FamilytreeDNA Project.

"The Greek and Phoenician presence also brought J2 into France and of course the Roman period also would have been a major contributor of Haplogroup J2 into what is today, France. So although, rare, Haplogroup J2 can be found in local populations throughout France and Spain."
Family Dugas, Haplogroup J2.
"The Mediterranean and Middle Eastern group consists of the the two Es, the G and the two J2s. Whit Athey and others have theorized that this group is associated with the Neolithic spread of agriculture from the Middle East into Europe. On the other hand, a more recent paper by Steven C. Bird argues for a Roman origin for J2 and E3b at least." Francis Surname Project.  http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Francissurnameproject/

"Sometime prior to that a Bretz ancestor must have come into Germany from the south, from Italy or Greece. Some researchers have suggested a family connection to Fabius Bretius, a Roman General, who came from the districts of Capua and Taranto in southern Italy to the town Trier, Germany around 224. Whether this connection is genuine or not, and it is impossible to know for sure, perhaps Roman conquests did bring Bretz DNA north 1,800 years ago as they did with so many other things. For some additional thoughts on the possible Latin origins of the family, also read the Genealogia Bretius."
Family Bretz, Haplogroup J2.

"Hoewel we tussen de periode van het ontstaan van onze haplogroep/subclade en het begin van de stamreeks de Sanders familiegeschiedenis niet met absolute zekerheid kunnen vaststellen ben ik van mening dat mede door het grote aantal indirecte aanwijzingen een redelijk nauwkeurig beeld van onze voorouders in die periode vastgesteld kan worden. Zo is het hoogstwaarschijnlijk dat onze voorouders in de tijd van het Romeinse rijk naar onze huidige geografische regio zijn gemigreerd. Zij waren waarschijnlijk Romeinse landbouwers en/of legionairs/veteranen van Italiaanse, Illyrische, Thracische of Griekse (Macedonische) afkomst. De indirecte relatie die we hebben met de van Santens geeft sterke aanwijzingen naar de plaats of regio Xanten, een oorspronkelijk Romeinse nederzetting die het middelpunt lijkt van de nederrijnse trojanenmythe. Deze Romeinse theorie sluit vervolgens perfect aan bij de eerstvolgende aanwijzing betreffende de afkomst van onze familie namelijk het Rooms Katholieke geloof."
Family Sanders, Haplogroup J2b2.

"My conclusion is that we are likely descendants of a Roman soldier serving in either Legio II or Legio XX. This Roman soldier was probably of Balkan (Macedonian, Illyrian, or Thracian) origin. It has been stated that ―The Romans surely helped spread haplogroup J2 within their borders, judging from the distribution of J2 within Europe (frequency more than 5 percent), which bear an uncanny resemblance to the borders of the Roman Empire. More research is needed to obtain a definitive answer but, in my opinion, we are most likely descendants of Roman soldiers recruited from the Balkans (Thrace, Macedonia, or Greece). The Hollywood movie ―King Arthur (2004 by Touchstone Pictures) is a striking example of how our haplogroup could have arrived in Northwestern Europe in Roman times."
mr. R.H.A. Sanders, Haplogroup J2b2, Worden Family Newsletter August 2011. http://wordenfamilyassoc.org/

"J2 has been well studied and can be split into several clades but whose mode of individual distribution is not well understood. Many influences such as Greek and Roman would have played a part."

"How our more recent ancestors ended up in England is still a mystery. It could have been a random migration of a single man. During the Roman occupation of Europe many people immigrated there from many areas of the world. Soldiers were sent there to serve military obligations. One of these might have been a man from the Mediterranean area. His descendants eventually took the surname Field and he might have been our earliest J2b2 ancestor." Genetic Journey of our branch of the Field family. http://www.luciefield.net/geneticjourney.html

"Haplogroup J2b is most common in the Middle East and reaches its highest percentages in Turkey. In Europe, the largest J2b populations are in Greece, Albania and Italy. This haplogroup is rare in Britain where it could represent remnants of eastern Mediterranean troops stationed on the island during the Roman occupation." 

"My paternal ancestors were mostly farm workers or self-employed craftsmen of no great social standing. I can trace my line back to the 18th century (confirmed) and as far back as the late 1500s (conjectural). Our Y-DNA Haplogroup of J-M205 (J2b1, old J2b1b) would be considered, quite unambiguously, a potential "Roman Ancestry" DNA signature, being connected in earlier times to the Greek and Thracian Settlements in the Mediterranean basin. As a matter of fact, when confronted with the J2 haplotype by one of his British customers, even Dr. Bryan Sykes of Oxford Ancestors eventually suggested a Roman origin." 
K. Pople, Pople Family Association.

"The J2 haplogroup came to England either through middle Eastern Roman soldiers who were stationed on the island (most common explanation), through Sephardic traders (not many of those), or through the migration to the island of gypsies in the 16th century (only being thought of as a possible source very recently)." 

"As to my family, My Worden branch came from Lancashire England and I can only go back to the late 1400s or early 1500s. The most likely probability is that we are descended from a Roman soldier who married a Saxon woman. There was a Roman retirement villiage right at the area we came from."
mr. Worden, Haplogroup J2b2, 2010.

"As far as our haplogroup goes, J2b2 is still something of a mystery - it's scattered all over Europe, including England, and I have assumed that it had to do with the spread of the Roman Empire. While J (and J1/J2) originated in the middle east and spread in several directions (even to India) it appears that J2b (and J2b2 particularly) seem to be mostly concentrated in Europe, and have probably been there for a long time."

mr. Goodman, Haplogroup J2b2, 2010.

Other Links;


Y-DNA Haplogroup J2 M172, quotes & links. List compiled by R.H.A. Sanders, 2013.
I hope they prove useful for your blog.

Thanks to Mr. Robert H.A. Sanders for sharing the maps and info above.

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