maps

MtDNA haplogroup L is the oldest maternal branch of humanity comprises almost all the lineages in sub-Saharan Africa. All Eurasian haplogroups descend from L3, the subclade that is the most common in the Arabian peninsula and North-East Africa. All four top branches of L (L0, L1, L2 and L3) are...

Haplogroup H5 is thought to have originated around 12,000 years ago in West Asia, probably around the Fertile Crescent. It was found in four individuals of from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Tell Halula in Syria, dating from circa 6800 BCE. It was also found in Neolithic Germany, Minoan...

Haplogroup T1 is a maternal lineage which appears to have originated in the Fertile Crescent and/or the South Caucasus. It is strongly associated with the expansion of agriculture during the Neolithic period, and to a lesser extent also with the spread of the Indo-Europeans during the Bronze...

Mt-haplogroup T2 is a relatively widespread, yet mysterious haplogroup. Its distribution doesn't give much hint regarding its origin. The frequency of T2 varies widely within linguistic families or countries that otherwise share similar ancestry, and even between regions of a same country. The...

I have cut out the sparsely populated areas on the Y-DNA maps. I think it gives a better idea of the true distribution of haplogroups in the Middle East and North Africa, where deserts have played an important role in shaping the local demography. Here are some examples (refresh your browser if...

Here comes the map of haplogroup HV, the mother of H and V, which appears to have originated in the Middle East. HV peaks in Mesopotamia and Iran. In Europe it reflects the establishment of some Neolithic farmers (esp. between Bulgaria and southern Belarus), which may correspond to Y-haplogroups...

X is one of the rarest mitochondrial haplogroups in terms of frequency, yet one of the most widespread geographically. It is found throughout Europe, North Africa, the Near/Middle East, in most of Central Asia, parts of North Asia, and among Native North Americans (X2a). X is currently divided...

There are now about 100 identified subclades of mt-haplogroup H. Most mitochondrial studies just test H, without mentioning subclades. Fortunately there was one major study on H subclades focusing especially on the two major western and northern European subclades H1 and H3. As these two occur...

Here is the distribution map of mt-haplogroup J. Although it hasn't been found yet in Mesolithic or Palaeolithic Europe, it is possible that J was already in Europe before the Neolithic, especially for J2a1 and J1c, which are rare outside Europe. Samples have been identified J samples...

Here is the map of mt-haplogroup W, a lineage with strongly connected to Balto-Slavic people. The maximum frequencies of W are observed in Finland (9.6%), Hungary (5.2%), Latvia (4.1%), Macedonia (4%) and Belarus (3.7%, but over 5% if we exclude the south). The Finns and the Hungarians are both...

Here is the new map of mt-haplogroup I. It's impossible to attribute an ethnic origin to the whole of haplogroup I as it is divided in 6 main branches and many subclades, which have a very different geographic distribution. Subclades - I1a is found in Central and Eastern Europe, in the...

Here is the distribution map of the rarest of the nine subclades of haplogroup U in Europe and the Middle East. The origins of U are still very uncertain. Almost all European U2 fits into the U2e subclade, with only a small minority of U2d. All the other subclades are usually found in South...

Let's continue the series of mtDNA maps. Here comes U3, a haplogroup with strong Near Eastern affinities. U3 was was almost certainly propagated by some (Levantine ?) Neolithic farmers in Europe, especially haplogroups E1b1b, J1(xP58) and T. U3 reflects partially the Southwest Asian admixture...

Here is another mtDNA map. Haplogroup U4 in particularly common in Balto-Slavic and to a lower extent also in other Y-DNA R1a populations (including Turkic and Altaic). The highest percentages of U4 are observed among the Chuvash (16.4%) and Bashkirs (14.8%) of the Volga-Ural region, who have...

After the map of U5 here comes the other major maternal lineage of the Saami, the Basques and the Cantabrians: haplogroup V (including HV0, aka pre-V). V is also well represented among the Berbers from the Maghreb and Libya. HV0 may actually have originated in Northwest Africa during the...

Haplogroup U5 was the most common maternal lineage among European hunter-gatherers, not just during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, but until much later in North and Northeast Europe, notably with the Sami people. U5 is absent from Southwest Asia and very low in most of the Middle East, where...

I have revised all the mtDNA frequencies and added 20 new populations. This now permits me to create mtDNA maps. Ideally I would need more detailed regional data for central and southern Spain, all Germany, Ukraine and European Russia (except the Caucasus, which is well covered). I have got...

After E-V13 it was only natural that I should follow with the map of J2b, the other major South Balkanic lineage with Neolithic ties. The distribution is actually quite similar to E-V13, apart from a lower incidence in Slavic countries, but that may just be because E-V13 is found at a ratio of...

To complete the series of main E1b1b subclades after E-V13 and E-M81, here is the map of E-M123, the most Middle Eastern of the three clades. I admit that I am a bit at a loss regarding its origin in Europe. M123 doesn't appear to be related to Neolithic cultures in the Balkans, which are...