Haplogroup G Time Relationships
                 and Migration Patterns

This page will be replaced soon by better organized information that the project has provided to the Wikipedia page dealing with Haplogroup G and the related G subgroup pages listed there.

Time Relationships
The time relationships listed here have specific dates listed.  But these are merely the best estimate of a mid-point of a period in time.  Link here to the page explaining the problems in calculating time relationships based on the number of mutations found in comparative studies.

General G

There is some probability that the original G common ancestor who developed the M201 mutation lived somewhere in the region stretching from the Middle East to Pakistan  or perhaps in colder climates north of there when planetary temperatures allowed it. (For more details, see the separate page on G origins).   Many Internet sites and some studies have made the statement that haplogroup G was introduced into Europe with the spread of agriculture.  These never provide a citation to document this supposed spread with agriculture.  To the contrary, virtually all the time comparisons made among Asian/Middle Eastern and European G samples show the common male ancestor living within the last 4000 years which is well after agriculture was introduced to Europe.  The vast majority of G persons in Europe seem to be descended from ancestors shared with more eastern G persons since about 2100 B.C.E.  This calculation seems to apply also to G persons in southern Asia.

Using my time guesstimate method which is conservative and takes into account the dating of an Alaskan skeleton which shares a common ancestor with G persons, my guesstime is that the haplogroup G mutation occurred within a haplogroup F band of men about 12,000 B.C.E. as the midpoint of a range of possibilities.  This is a conservative estimate, and others calculate that his mutation arose even earlier. Only one detailed sample from a person who is G, but not G1 or G2, is available (Hey).  His ancestor is the oldest sample of all the available samples and the ancestor he shares with other G persons lived very generally probably about 8200 yrs B.C.E., the midpoint within a generous time range.  This is the oldest time to a common ancestor calculated so far among G persons.   In his particular situation his ancestor lived with those who would split off perhaps 4600 B.C.E. and became G1 persons.  These are his closest matches.

G1 of all types

G1 persons today are found in highest frequency in Iran.  Thus an argument can be made that the common ancestor of G1 persons lived in Iran and very little movement has taken place since then.  G1 is found in next highest frequency in the countries adjacent to Iran on the north and west.  In addition, there is a pocket of G1 persons in Kazahkstan.  Very few G1 persons are found in Europe or Africa.  Very little is known of how G1 persons may have moved around.  In addition, no attempt will be made here to break down G1 into its known components.  As explained in the categorization section of this site, it can be difficult to distinguish G1 only persons from G1a persons.  And vurtually no G1b samples are available.  Among G1 persons of European ancestry, the majority are Jewish men with recent ancestry in various parts of northeastern Europe.  How the ancestor(s) of these men arrived in northeastern Europe is currently unclear.

Based on available detailed samples, it is generally estimated that the G1 mutation (M285) occurred about 4600 B.C.E.  

The one available detailed sample from India suggests the common ancestor he shares with those G1 persons in Europe and Iran-Turkey-Middle East lived about as far back as the origin of G1. 

The Kazakh G1 group shares a common ancestor with the Ashkenazi Jewish G1a group generally about 1200 B.C.E.  Diverse Europeans are the next nearest relatives, and common ancestors with the Middle Eastern and Indian components seem much older.

The Ashkenazi Jewish G1 and G1a groups are not closely related.  The common ancestor of the two groups generally lived in the earliest days of the origin of G1.  In our detailed samples, the Ashkenazi G1a group's nearest relatives are found among the Kazakhs, and the Ashkenazi G1's groups nearest relatives are found among scattered Europeans generally with shared common ancestors in the latter situation about 4300 B.C.E.

The Middle Eastern detailed sample from Yemen has a shared common ancestor with various Europeans about 3100 B.C.E., and these are his nearest relatives.  The Jewish G1a persons are next nearest in relationship.

General G2

The one available detailed sample [Schiro] that is G2 without belong to any G2 subgroup provides info that his ancestor separated from all the various types of groups within G2 generally about 6400 B.C.E.    Such a date in merely the midpoint of a large range of possible dates.

General G2a

Those who are G2a but do not belong to any of the four G2a subgroups are poorly studied.  The recent identification of the G2a4 SNP mutation makes the task especially difficult because so few persons have been tested for this and thus confirmed as only G2a.  The next paragraphs have information on a few G2a groups, but it cannot be ruled out some actually belong to a subgroup of G2a.

Those in the G2a subgroup which seems closest to G2a2 share a common male ancestor who lived generally about 3100 B.C.E.   These are just a few scattered men, and this subgroup may not have a real existence as a group.

The only subgroup of general G2a which is easily identifiable is those who have two values for the DYS19 markers.  Members are seen in the eastern and western Mediterranean, especially Sardinia.  There are a few samples from northwestern Europe available, but none so far seen in eastern Europe.   Among those  double DYS19 men with detailed samples, the common ancestor lived a considerable time ago, in the vicinity of 5000 B.C.E.

The group that has values similar to G2a1a persons (but negative for the G2a1a mutation) has a few available detailed samples.  The man from India shares a common ancestor with Europeans who lived very generally about 3700 B.C.E., and the time distance among Europeans is not much different.

There is a definite Jewish G2a3a subgroup of mixed Sephardic and Ashkenazi elements (DYS19=17). 

There are scattered samples from several other G2a subgroups, but nothing can be deduced at the present time about them.

G2a1 and G2a1a

It will be explained in the categorization page at this site that it can be difficult to distinguish G2a1 and G2a1a because of the unreliability of one of the SNP mutations.   The heaviest concentration of G2a1 is found today adjoining the central pass through the Caucasus Mtns. where G1a1 can dominate among the population in places  (Georgia and N. Ossetia, Russia)  This concentration does not assure an origin of this group there.  Evidence points to other G2a men living 2000-3000 years ago in areas to the south of the Caucasus, and this may also be the area of origin of G2a1.  Very generally it would seem that the mutation that characterizes G2a1a arose about 1300 B.C.E.

The N. Ossetian G2a1a's claim to be Alan Sarmatian descendants, but G2a1 is rarely found in Europe proper to where large number of Alans once moved about 2000 yrs. ago. 

The members of the G2a1a subgroup with recent ties to Caucasus countries may have had a common male ancestor who lived generally about the year 1000 C.E. based on available detailed samples.  The next nearest related men do not form any pattern, but begin to show up with a shared ancestor generally about 100 C.E.

There is a definite G2a1 Jewish subgroup with apparent recent origins in northeastern Europe.  The one available detailed sample shows no match to other G2a1a men until generally about 1700 B.C.E.

Almost all other comparisons show a shared common male ancestor in the B.C.E. period with a few comparisons showing shared male ancestors in the early C.E. period, such as an Italian-Dutch pair, and an English-Polish pair. 

G2a2

This is apparently a rare group.  Several samples with British Isles ancestry are available.  No conclusions about migrations or time relationships can be made.  The presence of a double value for DYS19 among G2a2 persons suggests a relationship to the G2a group with double values for this marker.

General G2a3

Only a few samples are avaiable of men who are G2a3 but do not belong to the two G2a3 subgroups.  So far all these men are European.  Tests for the two subgroups (G2a3a and G2a3b) became available only within the last year and a half (as of September 2009) making it difficult to tell whether some of the available samples are truly general G2a3.  Thus no conclusions can be made about migration patterns of general G2a3 persons.

General G2a3a and G2a3a1

It is presently a bit difficult to distinguish these two types due to inadequate testing for the subgroup. 
What is clear is that G2a3a is found in significant numbers in Turkey, Greece and the eastern Mediterranean countries.  G2a3a persons seems to spread wesward mostly along the Mediterranean from these regions.  Very preliminary calculations suggest the M406 mutation that characterizes G2a3a arose about the year 2100 B.C.E. as a very general estimate.  G2a3a so far has not been confirmed among southern Asian countries where some haplogroup G is found.

It is logical that G2a3a spread westward along the Mediterranean from these lands of origin with the  trading or other activities originating in these lands.  The first great trading empire that joined both ends of the Mediterranean was the Phoenician that originated in the Israel-Lebanon-Jordan area.  While detailed samples are available from the I-L-J area, detailed comparison samples from specific Phoenician sites of the western Mediterranean are not yet available.  After the demise of the Phoenicians, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and some "barbarians" could have spread G2a3a from the eastern Mediterranean to the west. 

Detailed samples available from inland Europe were compared with detailed samples from more easterly sites, namely (1) Turkey (2) Lebanon-Jordan and (3) Armenia.  These comparisons show that most Europeans have Armenians as their nearest relatives with separations from them starting generally about 1300 B.C.E. and extending into the Dark Ages period after the Roman Empire.  Those with the oldest separations (generally abt 1300 B.C.E. to 800 B.C.E.) show splits with the entire group in the east -- equally -- rather than with a specific region.  This is to be expected since the age of the mutation probably does not extend much further back.  Only one European showed Jordan/Lebanon samples as the nearest G relatives.  Likewise none showed Turks alone as nearest relatives, but rather some samples had Turks and Armenians equally related.   There have been cross migrations between Turkey and Armenia that could explain this. 

G2a3b1 and its subgroups

Non-clustering G2a3b1 persons
There  are persons who do not meet criteria for the four most common subgroupings of G2a3b1 (DYS388=13 group, DYS568=9 group, L13+ group and the Caucasus group).  While these men who fail to belong to the four subgroups are found in small numbers and scattered throughout Europe, little can be done in tracing their origins in the east because the eastern samples are often indistinguishable from the major G2a3b1 subgroups without testing of DYS388, DYS568 and/or L13.  Research studies have rarely tested these markers.  

G2a3b1 inclusion in prehistory, Roman empire,  barbarian invasions?
In an earlier version of this page I suggested that much of the G in central and northwestern Europe today (mostly G2a3b1) could have been brought there by the so-called barbarian invasions into central and western Europe.  This possibility applies primarily to the DYS388= 13 subgroup and will be discussed below.  

The P303+ ancestor of what is today the four main G2a3b1 subgroups had descendants who did not belong to any of these subgroups until generally about 2600 B.C.E. when a descendant formed the proto subgroup of what would become the DYS568=9 subgroup.  The actual mutation to 9 likely occurred later.  Generally about 1800 B.C.E., the proto groups of  what would become the three remaining G2a3b1 major subgroups came into existence.

The Caucasus Subgroup of G2a3b1
Although a separate proto version of the Caucasus subgroup existed for centuries, the men alive today within this subgroup seem to share a common ancestor born generally about 600 B.C.E.  The men in this Caucasus subgroup are clustered predominantly today north and south of the Caucasus Mountains in certain locales and represent the most common G type in these areas second to the G2a1a types seen there.  There are no marker oddities or SNPs designating men of the Caucasus subgroup.  While they have the P303+ mutation seen in all G2a3b1 men, only 67-marker samples will fully confirm membership in the subgroup.  However, inclusion in this subgroup can often be predicted with fewer number of markers.  There are a few Europeans and Russians in this group, but there seems to have been little out-migration from the Caucasus area.  How long this subgroup has been present in the Caucasus is unclear.  There is suggestive evidence that their ancestor at some point migrated from areas to the south, but there is no proof of this.

The U1+ and L13+ Subgroups of G2a3b1 (G2a3b1a and G2a3b1a1)
Almost all known U1+ persons are also L13+, and the subgroup will be called just L13+ 
Although a separate proto version of the L13+ subgroup existed for centuries, the men alive today within this subgroup seem to share a common ancestor born generally about 500 B.C.E.  However, there seems a second clustering with L13+ persons who share an ancestor born about 800 of the Current Era.  These two major divisions presently seem identifiable only by comparing genetic distances, but tentatively many Englishmen seem to fail to be part of the cluster of men with more recent shared ancestry.  This L13+ subgroup is much more common in German-speaking areas and in countries along Germany's eastern border than elsewhere. 

A warrior skeleton from the 600s in eastern Bavaria, Germany, seems to be a L13+ person, but this cannot be fully confirmed due to fragmentary DNA results.  There are also L13+ persons in existence today south of the Caucasus Mtns.  These latter samples are not available to the public and the history of the group with these samples suggests a residence before the Current Era in Persia.  There is also a Syrian Jewish man who is L13+, but Syrian Jews partially were exiles from Mediterranean lands during the Current Era.  Unlike the other two predominantly European G2a3b1 subgroups, the L13+ subgroup is almost absent from Spain.  In brief, the migratory history of this L13+ subgroup is rather murky.  Exactly how or when they migrated mostly probably to Germany is unclear.  There are dozens of major migration events that could explain the movement.  Detailed L13 samples from non-European lands would help clarify at least the migration time.

The DYS568=9 Subgroup of G2a3b1
Although a separate proto version of the DYS568=9 subgroup existed for centuries, the men alive today within this subgroup seem to share a common ancestor born generally about 950 B.C.E.  Whether the DYS568 mutation occurred in the proto period or afterward is not known.  Likewise this group has a less reliable, but similarly unusual, mutation of the YCA marker which arose at an early date.

There is a distinctive Ashkenazi Jewish sub-subgroup which comprises about half of the available DYS568=9 samples.  However, only a few of these men have obtained 67 markers.  These available samples suggest the Jewish group shares a common ancestor no farther back in time than the Renaissance and probably more recent.  The large G2c* group has an earlier common ancestor probably in the 1300s or slightly earlier.  The availability of additional 67-marker samples could push back the time period of the common ancestor of the Jewish DYS568=9 sub-subgroup.

There have been no detailed DYS568=9 samples that have surfaced from anywhere farther east than Greece.  This raises the question of whether this subgroup's mutations arose in Europe or in more eastern lands.  When more samples are available it will be possible to determine generally when the ancestors of the Spanish, Italian, German and British components of this subgroup separated as nothing can be concluded presently.  It is possible that there are eastern cousins today who share a common ancestry with the DYS568=9 group in the proto period before the DYS568 mutation developed, but presently this does not seem feasible due to the imprecision of the dating process.

No additional large sub-subgroups exist within DYS568=9, and the Jewish sub-subgroup does not seem to share a common ancestor with the non-Jewish men within the Current Era.

The DYS388=13 Subgroup of G2a3b1
Although a separate proto version of the DYS388=13 subgroup existed for centuries, the men alive today within this subgroup seem to share a common ancestor born generally about 500 B.C.E.  The mutation to 13 may have developed earlier.

Initially it was thought that the Sarmatian migration -- including that of the Alan Sarmatians -- into much of Europe during the so-called barbarian invasion almost 2000 years ago might account for the distribution of DYS388=13 men seen today.  The areas where they had settlements are areas where DYS88=13 persons have some increased presence today.  Certain problems with this theory have arisen. 

This Sarmatian theory is viable if the DYS388=13 type of G2a3b1 was entirely swept from the Sarmatian area north of the Black Sea during the migration.   Several Internet sources seem to reject a connection between haplogroup G and the Sarmatians and the Scythians who lived in today's Ukraine and s.w. Russia based on DNA from a few Scythian graves in Siberia.  But the persons who left the involved area were the western Sarmatians and Scythians.  The Scythians disappeared and merged with the Sarmatians who were known to accept outsiders into their groups.  And the westernmost Sarmatians seemingly left the area en masse during the migrations based on  the large population they were described as having after the migration.  Being traditionally migratory, they were described as taking all their possessions on wheeled vehciles during annual migrations.

The problems with the Sarmatian theory are serious:
First, the DYS388=13 subgroup descends from a common ancestor who developed the 13 mutation, and he would not likely have had enough descendants in the intervening time to have comprised more than a small part of the Sarmatian migration.  This statement would be invalidated if a DYS388=13 person is found in the east who is distant enough from the European DYS388= 13 to show that the mutation to 13 is older than it now seems.

Second, other movements of peoples could also account for the movements of these G persons into parts of Europe. 

The third problem involves the haplogroups associated with supposed Alan Sarmatian descendants today.  The first group today consists of the traditional Ossetic-speaking peoples of North Ossetia in the Russian middle area of the Caucasus.  It was mentioned above in the G2a1a section that a high percentage of the many G persons there are G2a1a.   DYS388=13 persons, in contrast, seem to be an extremely tiny minority if they exist there at all.  G2a1a is a rare finding in Europe today and certainly could not represent what is left in Europe of the very large Sarmatian migration.  A second Ossetic-speaking group identified as Alans appeared suddenly in the Middle Ages in a small region of today's Hungary.  While Ossetic is no longer spoken among them, all the towns bear Alan prefixes to their names.  The initial sampling of a person thought to have a solid descent from these Alans was found in 2009 to belong to R1a haplogroup.  More samples from there are needed, but the information so far does not seem promising for a G connection.

There are several sub-subgroups within DYS388=13 with distinguishing marker or SNP results.  The only one of these that can be defined easily is the DYS594=11 sub-subgroup of DYS388= 13.  This 11 value is not 100% exclusive to this subgroup and some reliance must be made on close relationships.  The vast marjorityof this overwhelmingly Welsh and English sub-subgroup shares a common male ancestor who lived generally aboutthe year 1000 Current Era.   The DYS594=11 sub-subgroup shares a common ancestor with most other DYS388=13 men probably slightly before the Current Era making it difficult to say precisely when this group arrived in Britain.  Virtually all the Welsh DYS388=13 men are found within this DYS594=11 subgroup.  This unusual Welsh component indicates it is possible they may even have been mercenaries with the Romans who were the only pre-Norman alien group to have occupied significant parts of Wales.  If they came later with the Normans in the 1100s, they would likely have been living together somewhere for centuries in order to retain the DYS594=11 flavor of the group.  The few Normans brought workers from today's Belgium to Wales who were soon forced to reside in the southern Welsh ocean towns.  Medieval merchants from Flanders may have come to Wales.   And copper miners from Derbyshire came in the 1600s to certain northern Welsh locales.

The Roman Empire connection seems one of the more attractive scenarios for introduction of DYS388=13 persons into Europe.  The Romans are known to have hired various groups of men, including western Sarmatian mercenaries beginning in the 100s C.E. bringing some Sarmatians to northern England and perhaps to Wales where a Sarmatian symbol is found on the Welsh flag today.  By the end of the Roman period in Britain, the soldiers were dramatically redistributed to counter coastal invasions by pirates.  Consequently there is no surviving evidence that Sarmatians were anywhere in Britain at the end of the Roman period.   But the non-Sarmatian mercenaries in the hire of the Romans could have included DYS388=13 men.    The scientific community has seldom checked for DYS388, and so far we have only a single confirmed DYS388=13 G2a3b1 person listed in the literature from the area that is on a line from Egypt to southwest Russia and all areas to the east of this. There is one man in Isfahan, Iran whose very brief sample is otherwise the most promising DYS388=13 sample in that whole region.  Some southern Caucasus samples seemed to be DYS388=13, but in retrospect these more likely belong to the G2a3b1 Caucasus group.  This Egyptian DYS388=13 man might be (1) a remnant of the Sarmatian legion known to be there, (2) a sample introduced during the European occupations, or (3) a clue to the origins of the DYS388=13 group or (4) in actuality a non-G2a3b1 person whose haplotype has overlapped into G2a3b1 values.  DYS388 is starting to appear in more studies, and it is hoped better knowledge will soon be available.  To date, not one study has checked for P303 (G2a3b1), and this is another serious handicap.

There is a complication with regard to this description of DYS594=11 men.  There exists a single sample of a man with an English surname.  His entry at Y-Search claims a Swiss origin despite the English name.  His 37-markers are suggestive of his being a part of the DYS594=11 group.  The best guess is that he is incorrect as to origins as we have no other  Swiss men part of the DYS594= 11 group, and we lack his markers 38 to 67 and marker DYS594 which would indicate fully his status.  If he is truly Swiss and DYS594= 11, the information as to origin and age of the DYS594= 11 sub-subgroup would have to be revised.  We have quite a few Swiss men in other DYS388= 13 clusters, but only this one claimed Swiss man here.

Several Askhenazi Jewish men have their nearest genetic matches within the DYS388=13 group (with a shared ancestor probably in the Middle Ages).  A conversion to Judaism or non-paternity event is the most likely explanation for this. 

There are but two samples available from eastern lands which seem to belong to the DYS388= 13 group.  One is from Iran and the other Turkey (Kurdish).  Regretfully insufficient markers are available to rule out that the 13 values of these men are just rare independent mutations without establishing them as genetically close to the DYS388= 13 group.  Sufficient markers would allow calculation of time relationships.

The interesting G2a3b1 findings in Ibiza
Published research in late 2008 and in early 2009, relative to Iberian G persons and more particularly to Ibiza Island further suggest a Jewish connection for two of the three main G2a3b1 groups (DYS388=13 and DYS568= 9)  The 2008 study suggested that Ibizan haplogroup G samples, in contrast to the R and E haplogroups in Iberia, have heavy admixture of sample features seen among Sephardic Jews.  The Jewish samples came from Israeli researchers Carl Skorecki and Doron Behar's Sephardic Jewish samples. (Susan M. Adams et. al, "The Genetic Legacy of Religious Diversity and Intolerance: Paternal Lineages of Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula," American Journal of Human Genetics, 2008, vol 83, pp 725-36) 

Some samples were provided in this study from the island of Ibiza, the smallest of the Balearics.  Then in 2009, was published V. Rodriguez, "Genetic Sub-structure in Western Mediterranean Populations Revealed by 12-Chromosome STR Loci," International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2009, vol. 123, pp 137-41.  While neither of these studies checked the samples for the presence of P303 which defines G2a3b1, it is clear from the marker values that these are P303+ (G2ab3b1) samples.  There is great similarlity to the samples, and the Adams study found that about half had 12 for DYS388 and half had 13.  Thus there is great likelihood these samples properly belong to the DYS568=9 and DYS388=13 subgroups of G2a3b1.

Combining the two studies which have over 150 Ibiza samples, there are about 16% G2a3b1 persons in Ibiza -- the highest percentage of G2a3b1 by far of any location in the world.  Comparing Ibiza's larger number of samples in the Rodriguez study to the Sephardic samples found only in the Adams study, one finds that 88% of the G samples of Ibiza are exact matches to Sephardic samples, but only 22% of the R1b Ibiza samples are exact matches to Sephardic samples.  There are only a relatively few Ibiza samples that aren't R1b or G and the percentages of matches may be too coincidental at such low numbers to consider them for comparisons.

When one excludes the majority haplogroup R and E samples from the Ibiza data because of their apparent extremely high relationship to non-Jewish groupings, one is left with haplogroup G as the prime candidate for Jewish ancestry on the island.  As it happens there had been a flourishing Jewish presence on the island from Phoenician times even during the Spanish Inquisition during which they were able to maintain  their Jewish communities in secret at their remote location.  This was facilitated by a long history of traditional secrecy with outsiders related to the smuggling for which the island was famed.  It is not easy to quantify the percentages of descendants of original Jews there.  Various sources give different information, but the quantity was certainly under 50% but still substantial.  The population in the Middle Ages on the island was only a few thousand persons with four Christian churches in existence.  Some Christian buildings had secret synagogues below them, and some of the Christian population observed Saturday as a work-free day.  See  http://www.jcpa.org/jl/hit12.htm by Gloria Mound for detailed information on the Jewish presence in Ibiza.  The descendants of original Jews could have perished in higher percentages during the Spanish Civil War and World War II when there was Spanish Fascist and Nazi control of the island.  More detailed versions of these Ibizan G samples are needed to determine time relationships with other G2a3b1 persons.  Because of in-breeding on the island, red hair is particularly common among Ibizan Jewish descendants.

G2a4
Only several confirmed G2a4 samples are available.  Tenative information would indicate that the mutation that defines G2a4 arose generally about 2600 B.C.E.

G2c and G2c1 

Almost all the available G2c samples are from men who are overwhelmingly Ashkenazi Jewish.  Preliminary information suggests a migration to northeastern Europe from Sicily in the Middle Ages because there are genetic cousins in Sicily today.  Some more distantly related G2c men are also known to exist in the eastern Mediterranean.  G2c1 seems to exist only east of Iran today making definitive migratory data difficult to provide, but logically they came there from the west in Iran or surrounding lands.  The G2c Jewish men share a common male ancestor who lived generally about 1300 C.E.  Sharing such a recent ancestor makes it difficult to determine the much older age of the G2c mutation.  G2c certainly is not recent because this group shows up as a remote and distinctly different group on phylogenetic diagrams.  The G2c group shares a common male ancestor with the only G2* man generally about 4000 B.C.E.  This single G2* man may not be typical of his group since we have but one sample.  G2c's shared ancestor with G1 persons may generally go back to 6800 B.C.E. or so.

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This page was considerably re-written in August 2009 and time revisions were added in September 2009.