The most exciting Big Y result isn’t the one we already know. It’s the one that hasn’t been tested yet. Could yours be next?

🧬 Big Y Update – Rashid Chiragi We are pleased to share that Rashid Chiragi’s Big Y-700 results are now available. Although he currently has no direct Big Y matches, he shares the same branch as Mr. Edrees. As a result, FamilyTreeDNA is expected to define a new downstream branch, and within the next couple of weeks both Mr. Edrees and Rashid Chiragi should receive a new, younger terminal haplogroup. Mr. Chiragi traces his paternal ancestry to the Iran/Iraq region, adding another valuable geographic data point to the growing diversity of the H-CTS8429 lineage. Every new Big Y test helps refine the Y-DNA tree and brings us closer to understanding the history and migration of this fascinating lineage. We look forward to seeing where this newly defined branch fits into the broader H-CTS8429 phylogeny.

🎉 We Have Exciting News! We are delighted to welcome a Mandaean participant to the Greater Hindustan Y-DNA Project. Our new member belongs to the ancient Mandaean (Sabian) community, an indigenous ethnoreligious group historically centered in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and southwestern Iran). Today, Mandaean communities are found across the world, preserving a unique religious and cultural heritage despite centuries of displacement. Mandaeism is a strictly monotheistic religion. Mandaeans worship Hayyi Rabbi ("The Great Living God") as the one eternal Creator. Their religious tradition reveres Adam, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Enoch, Abraham, and especially John the Baptist (Yahia/Yuhana), who is regarded as their last prophet and greatest teacher. Their sacred liturgical language is Classical Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language that continues to be used in prayers and religious ceremonies. The Mandaeans are widely identified by many modern scholars with the Sabians (Ṣābiʾūn) mentioned in the Qur'an (e.g. Qur'an 2:62, 5:69, and 22:17). From a genetic perspective, our new participant belongs to Y-DNA Haplogroup H-BY83539, a branch of the ancient H-M69 paternal lineage. Every new H lineage contributes to our understanding of ancient human migrations and the diversity within this fascinating haplogroup. We sincerely thank our new Mandaean member for joining the Greater Hindustan Y-DNA Project and for generously sharing authentic information about his faith, history, and traditions. We look forward to learning more about the genetic history of the Mandaean community as additional participants join our research. Welcome to the Greater Hindustan Y-DNA Project!

🧬 Exciting Update (From Past Weeks): New Rakhigarhi Ancient DNA Samples Under Analysis A new batch of Rakhigarhi ancient human remains has been transferred for advanced ancient DNA analysis. While no genomic data has been published yet, this marks an important milestone for South Asian archaeogenetics. Every new ancient genome has the potential to refine our understanding of the phylogenetic tree by identifying previously unknown branches, confirming ancestral relationships, and improving the placement of both ancient and modern lineages. As more samples are added, TMRCA (Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) estimates can also be recalibrated, often becoming more accurate as the tree gains additional reference points. The first published Rakhigarhi genome transformed our understanding of the Indus Civilization. With more individuals now under study, we may soon gain a much clearer picture of Harappan genetic diversity, population structure, migrations, and paternal lineages. At the Greater Hindustan Y-DNA Project, we are eagerly following these developments. Every new ancient genome not only helps reconstruct our shared past but also strengthens the interpretation of modern Y-DNA results by providing deeper historical context. The next major breakthrough in South Asian ancient DNA research may be closer than ever.

🏺 A Remarkable Ancient Egyptian Connection The Greater Hindustan Y-DNA Project is delighted to welcome a fascinating new addition—Edgar Slagle’s Y-DNA kit, belonging to haplogroup H-Z19008. What makes this especially exciting is that Nakht-Ankh, one of the famous mummies from the Tomb of the Two Brothers in Middle Kingdom Egypt (c. 1900 BCE), has also been assigned to Y-DNA haplogroup H-Z19008 on FTDNA Discover. This means that our project now includes a modern individual who belongs to the same paternal haplogroup as one of ancient Egypt’s most iconic mummies. For genetic genealogists, discoveries like this are extraordinary. They demonstrate how Y-DNA can bridge thousands of years of history, connecting living people with individuals who lived nearly four millennia ago. Every new test adds another piece to the story of human migration and paternal ancestry. Unfortunately, Edgar’s kit cannot be upgraded to Big Y-700 because there is insufficient DNA remaining in the stored sample, and there are currently no known male-line descendants available for testing. Even so, his existing results are an invaluable contribution to the project. A heartfelt thank you to Wendy for adding Edgar’s kit and for sharing this incredible historical connection. It is discoveries like these that make Y-DNA research so rewarding. Who knows what other ancient connections are waiting to be uncovered?

Hello everyone,I am a new member of the project from Slovakia. I would like to share my analysis from YFull (ID: YF143885) and TheYtree (ID: AU85561) for my terminal branch H-FT39510.As you can see on the screenshots, my branch shares a common ancestor with a Romani sample from Serbia (YF087316) under the parent branch H-BY47158 (TMRCA ~800 ybp). I also have 10 high-quality Novel SNPs listed. My paternal lineage comes from Dunajská Lužná, Slovakia.I look forward to connecting with anyone who shares a close match or similar downstream mutations!