Human Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22 traces Neolithic expansion in West Asia and supports the Elamite and Dravidian connection
West and South Asian populations profoundly influenced Eurasian genetic and cultural diversity. We investigate the genetic history of the Y chromosome haplogroup L1-M22, which, while prevalent in these regions, lacks in-depth study. Robust Bayesian analyses of 165 high-coverage Y chromosomes favor a West Asian origin for L1-M22 ~20.6 thousand years ago (kya), supported by a diversification pattern resembling other West Asian uni-parental lineages. Moreover, this haplogroup parallels the genome-wide genetic ancestry of hunter-gatherers from Iran and the Caucasus. We characterized two L1-M22 harboring population groups during the Early Holocene. One expanded with the West Asian Neolithic transition. The other moved to South Asia ~8-6 kya but showed no expansion. This group likely participated in the spread of Dravidian languages. These South Asian L1-M22 lineages expanded ~4-3 kya, coinciding with the Steppe ancestry introduction. Our findings advance current understanding of Eurasian historical dynamics, emphasizing L1-M22's West Asian origin, associated population movements, and linguistic impacts.