Haplogroup H (mtDNA)

The clade is believed to have originated in West Asia, near present day Syria,[1] around 20,000 to 25,000 years ago.

Mitochondrial haplogroup H is today predominantly found in Europe, and is believed to have evolved before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

It first expanded in the northern Near East and Southern Caucasus, and later migrations from Iberia suggest that the clade reached Europe before the Last Glacial Maximum.

[4] Several independent studies conclude that haplogroup H probably evolved in Western Asia c. 25,000 years ago.

[7] The clade has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the pre-Ptolemaic/late New Kingdom and Ptolemaic periods.

[8] Additionally, haplogroup H has been found among specimens at the mainland cemetery in Kulubnarti, Sudan, which date from the Early Christian period (AD 550–800).

The clade reaches 20% in the Near East and Caucasus, 17% in Iran, and <10% in the Arabian Peninsula, Northern India and Central Asia.

[1][14] Undifferentiated haplogroup H has been found among Palestinians (14%),[15] Syrians (13.6%),[15] Druze (10.6%),[15] Iraqis (9.5%),[15] Somalis (6.7%),[15] Egyptians (5.7% in El-Hayez;[16] 14.7% in Gurna[17]), Saudis (5.3–10%),[15] Soqotri (3.1%),[18] Nubians (1.3%),[15] and Yemenis (0–13.9%).

[15] Among all these clades, the subhaplogroups H1 and H3 have been subject to a more detailed study and would be associated to the Magdalenian expansion from SW Europe c. 13,000 years ago:[19] H1 encompasses an important fraction of Western European mtDNA lineages, reaching its local peak among contemporary Basques (27.8%).

[20] As of 2010[update], the highest frequency of the H1 subclade has been found among the Tuareg inhabiting the Fezzan region in Libya (61%).

[24] Haplogroup H has been observed in ancient Guanche fossils excavated in Gran Canaria and Tenerife on the Canary Islands, which have been radiocarbon-dated to between the 7th and 11th centuries CE.

[25] Additionally, ancient Guanche (Bimbaches) individuals excavated in Punta Azul, El Hierro, Canary Islands were all found to belong to the H1 maternal subclade.

These locally born individuals were dated to the 10th century and carried the H1-16260 haplotype, which is exclusive to the Canary Islands and Algeria.

H3 represents the second largest fraction of the H genome after H1 and has a somewhat similar distribution, with peaks in Portugal, Spain, Scandinavia and Finland.

It is common in Portugal (12%), Sardinia (11%), Galicia (10%), the Basque country (10%), Ireland (6%), Norway (6%), Hungary (6%) and southwestern France (5%).

[51] The branch H14b3 has been found in Armenians from Artsakh[61] and people from Armenia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Scotland.

[51] H45b exists among multiple kinds of western Europeans, including people in Ireland,[72] Scotland, England, and Germany.

[51] H53 is encountered in such countries as Spain (including among Basques)[74] and Poland[75] and as far east as Xinjiang in western China (among Uyghurs).

[76] H69 is a European branch found in Finns,[77] Irish people,[78] and inhabitants of Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland.

[80] This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup H subclades is based on Build 17 (February 2016) of the Phylotree, an internationally accepted standard.