ABOUT G-L497 Ancient patrilineal ancestors of G-L497 men reached Europe as early farmers over 8,000 years ago from Anatolia, likely following the Danubian route through the Balkans, after many earlier generations had lived in Anatolia and beyond. Today, this haplogroup is widespread across Western and Central Europe, with hotspots in Switzerland, Northern Italy, Tyrol, Southwestern Germany, and Eastern France. Evidence suggests that G-L497 likely began expanding from the Eastern Alps. The earliest ancient DNA samples carrying G-L497 have been found in several key cultures, including the Baden, Řivnáč, and Únětice cultures, as well as in Copper Age Northern Italy and Bronze Age Southeastern France. Among later groups, G-L497 and downstream subclades have been found among Etruscans, Celts (Hallstatt and La Tène cultures), and some Germanic groups (e.g., Goths and Franks), among others. Notably, G-L497 has been identified in elite Hallstatt culture burials, highlighting its prominence in the early Celtic-speaking world and linking it to evidence of later Celtic expansions. Given that G-L497 originated in a non-Indo-European world, which included several cultures commonly known as Old Europe, its early members would have spoken a Paleo-European language, and it is plausible that G-L497 played a role in spreading Tyrsenian languages. Since the Y chromosome constitutes nearly 2% of a man's total genome and is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son, all men carrying G-L497 share almost all of this part of their DNA, connecting them to each other and their distant patrilineal ancestors. JOIN THE G-L497 Y-DNA PROJECT The Project includes men with the L497 SNP mutation or those reliably predicted to be G-L497+ based on certain STR marker values. You are eligible to join if: • You have tested positive for the L497 SNP or any equivalent. • You belong to haplogroup G (G-M201+) and have the STR marker value DYS388=13 (or higher). If you are unsure of your G subclade, please join the G-Uncategorized Project. An administrator will evaluate your results and transfer you to the appropriate project if a reliable classification is possible. Relatives of deceased or unavailable G-L497 males, including female relatives managing Y-DNA results, are also welcome to join. The primary goal of this project is to refine our understanding of G-L497's subgroups and migration history. Donations to the project help fund targeted SNP testing, advancing our scientific knowledge of the haplogroup. HOW TO JOIN Log in to your FTDNA account. • Click My Projects > Join at the top of the page. • Scroll down to Y-DNA Haplogroup Projects and select G(...). • Choose G-L497 Y-DNA, click Join, and follow the instructions. For inquiries, please provide your FTDNA kit number when contacting the project administrators: Rolf Langland (Project Administrator) – langland@redshift.com Tim Lehmann (Project Co-Administrator) – timlehmann@gmail.com Brian Hamman (Project Administrator) – brianhamman@yahoo.com Mauricio Cattel (Project Administrator) – mauricio.cattel@gmail.com