Ashkenazi Y-DNA Haplogroup R1a

Based upon the methodology posted here and using the sample set described here, as of January 2019 it appears that there are three ancestral Y-DNA lines in haplogroup R1a in the Ashkenazi Jewish population: (1) R1a-Y2619; (2) the R1a-YP6547 branch of R1a-Y2632 (2022 analysis: R1a-BY33370); and (3) R1a-YP1013. Trees for each of those clusters are posted below.

R1a-Y2619

January 2019 Analysis - R1a-Y2619

FTDNA Y-DNA Haplotree - R1a-Y2619 (as of December 30, 2020)

YFull YTree - R1a-Y2619 (as of January 9, 2021)

Upstream SNPs: M207>M173>M420>M459>M198>M417>PF6162>Z93>Z94>Z2124>Z2122> F1345>CTS6>Y2619

ISOGG Haplogroup R Tree (2019-2020): R1a1a1b2a2b1a3~

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

R-Y2619: 1,150 ybp (900-1,450 ybp @95%)

R-FGC18222: 1,150 ybp (850-1,500 ybp @95%)

R-Y2630: 1,000 ybp (700-1,350 ybp @95%)

R-BY29826: 1,050 ybp (900-1,450 ybp @95%)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

R1a-Z93-M582 (AB-067): 660-809 CE @95%

TMRCA (2017 Behar et al.)

R-Y2619: 1,743 ybp

This is the R1a-Y2619 Ashkenazi Levite cluster to which the companion website www.levitedna.org is devoted.

The R1a-Y2619 cluster follows the same pattern as many of the larger Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters, with (1) a shared direct male ancestor dating back to about the second half of the first millenium CE, as evidenced by initial branching during that time frame; and (2) substantial branching within those subbranches that presumably dates back to the time when the Ashkenazi population began its massive expansion out of a small bottlenecked population, about 700 to 1,000 years ago.

R1a-Y2632 (R1a-YP6547 subcluster)

2022 analysis: R1a-BY33370

January 2019 Analysis - R1a-Y2632 (R1a-YP6547 subcluster)

FTDNA Y-DNA Haplotree - R1a-Y2632 (as of December 30, 2020)

YFull YTree - R1a-Y2632 (as of January 9, 2021) does not include Ashkenazi samples

Upstream SNPs: M207>M173>M420>M459>M198>M417>PF6162>Z93>Z94>Z2124>Z2125> Z2123>Y2632

ISOGG Haplogroup R Tree (2019-2020): R1a1a1b2a2a1c3~

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

R1a-Y2632: 3,900 ybp (3,100-4,800 ybp @95%)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of January 9, 2021)

R1a-Z93-Z2123 (AB-068): 820-1394 CE @95%

Because R1a-YP6547 is the only subcluster of the R1a-Y2632 cluster in which Ashkenazi men have done Big Y testing, it appears that the Ashkenazi men in the sample set who are Y2632+ and Y2633+ belong to the R1a-YP6547 subcluster. Pending further test results, it appears that the R1a-Y2632 line may have become Ashkenazi during the past millenium.

R1a-YP1013

January 2019 Analysis - R1a-YP1013

FTDNA Y-DNA Haplotree - R1a-YP1013 (as of December 30, 2020)

YFull YTree - R1a-YP1013 (as of January 9, 2021)

Upstream SNPs: M207>M173>M420>M459>M198>M417>PF6162>Z283>Z282>Z280>Y2395>PF6165> M458>Y2604>CTS11962>L1029>YP417>YP418>YP1013

ISOGG Haplogroup R Tree (2019): R1a1a1b1a1a1c1c1a~

TMRCA (YFull Tree) (as of January 9, 2021)

R-YP1013: 2,000 ybp (1,550 ybp - 2,600 ybp @95%)

R-YP4848: 1,650 ybp (1,150-2,200 ybp @95%)

TMRCA (JewishDNA.net) (as of February 17, 2021)

Because YP1013 appears not to be a Big Y-reported SNP and neither of the two R-Y97531 men are in the sample set, it is quite possible that R1a-YP1013 entered the Ashkenazi population at the time of R1a-M12402. (Because there are men in the sample set for both of the subclusters of R1a-M12402, it appears that the R1a-M12402 progenitor was Ashkenazi.) Further information as to the age of R-M12402 is needed to draw a conclusion as to the time when a R1a-YP1013 line entered the Ashkenazi population.

Y-DNA SNPs Not Appearing on Trees Posted Above

In addition to the SNPs posted above, there are a number of SNPs identified through the methodology used on this website that do not appear in any of the trees posted above. In some cases, primarily with regard to SNPs reported by Family Tree DNA based upon the results of Big Y testing or Geno 2.0 testing, the reported SNPs are ancestral to the SNPs set forth in one or more of the trees above; if the tested man is Ashkenazi on his direct male line, Big Y testing would likely determine that he belongs to one of the clusters set forth above. In other instances, it is possible that SNPs identify a small and/or undertested Ashkenazi cluster; further testing or information may identify such clusters. Often, because the methodology used herein to identify potential Ashkenazi SNPs is overinclusive (especially for the 50 cM cohort but also, on occasion, for the 80 cM and 100 cM cohorts), SNPs set forth below do not reflect Ashkenazi (or Jewish) ancestry on the direct male line. Finally, there are some SNPs (identified with "N/A") that do not appear on FTDNA's Y-DNA haplotree at all.

Upstream SNPs. The following SNPs in the table above Identified in red) are upstream from SNPs found in one or more Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters: CTS11962, CTS6, F1345, L1029, M198, M417, M458, M459, M512 (not on the FTDNA Haplotree, but at the same level as M198), Z2123, Z280, Z283, Z93, and Z94.

If men who are reported based upon STR or Geno 2.0 testing as having these SNPs are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male line, there is a high probability that such men belong to one of those Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters. (Almost all such men who are reported as R-CTS6 or R-F1345 will belong to the R1a-Y2619 Ashkenazi Levite cluster.) However, a large proportion of the men reported as having these terminal SNPs are not of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male lines.

Other SNPs. With the exception of the SNPs that are not on FTDNA's Y-DNA Haplotree (identified with "N/A"), it is unlikely that men reported as having terminal SNPs other than the upstream SNPs identified above are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male lines.

Other Reported Terminal SNPs in Haplogroup R. In addition to the SNPs identified above, the dataset includes one SNP (R-M173) (identified in red) which is ancestral to haplogroup R as a whole, and seven SNPs not identified by the materials consulted for this analysis as belonging to haplogroup R1a, R1b, or R2.

Upstream SNP. R-M173 is upstream from R1a, R1b, and R2. If men who are reported as R-M173 are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male line, there is a high probability that such men belong to one of the Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters in haplogroup R.

Other SNPs. Based on the available information, R-BY39369 may belong to one of the Ashkenazi Y-DNA clusters in haplogroup R. With the exception of that SNP, it is unlikely that men with the terminal SNPs identified with "N/A" are of Ashkenazi descent on their direct male lines.