Haplogroups by Geography

Understanding our human origin has been the goal of many. The most recent thoughts have been given in a series of articles widely circulated:

1) "What Darwin Didn't Know", National Geographic, February 2009,

2) "4 Million Year Old Woman", National Geographic, July 2010,

3) "King Tut's DNA, Unlocking Family Secrets", National Geographic, Sept. 2010.

The Middle Awash [Sudan and Ethiopia] is generally believed to be the location of our earliest human existence. [pp. 44-45, National Geographic, July 2010] Haplogroup A is felt to have had its first DNA exposure around this geographic location, and the great Rift Valley the door to much of the first human migration.

The figure to the right is my attempt to give a "big picture" of the recognized haplogroups and their "broad" geographic locations. Starting in the upper left, then moving across the page is listed; Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, Pacific, and America. The next line subdivides Africa into Sub-Saharan, and North Africa. Then Asia is subdivided into Central, North, East, and South. The haplogroups are listed in chronological order placed under each geographic area. The haplogroups are then followed by a percent that this haplogroup is found within these geographic areas. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, haplogroup A represents approximately 21% of this geographic area. Haplogroup B represents roughly 18%. However, haplogroup E is reported to be found in roughly 61% of the folks tested from this area.

You can then follow for each geographic area, the haplogroups that have been found in DNA studies, the percentage that each roughly has, and the total number of haplogroups which have been found in these geographic areas. This figure sort of "sneezes" the haplogroups across time as well as their geographic distribution. Pretend that your mouth is located in the upper left corner of the page, and your "sneeze" spreads outward from this location. Hopefully, you will not need a Kleenex. You can enlarge the figure by clicking on the image. Enjoy. More to come.