Description

Haplogroup C is one of the oldest non-African haplogroups and is associated with some of the earliest out-of-Africa coastal migrations. Its branches span from South Asia (C-M356) to Australia and Melanesia (C-M38 / C4), the Americas (minor presence), and East/Central Asia (C2 / C-M217). C2 in particular became dominant in Mongolia and among Turkic-Mongolic peoples of Central Asia.

Interesting Fact

The Australian Aboriginal paternal lineage belongs predominantly to haplogroup C4 (a branch of C), reflecting the initial peopling of Australia approximately 50,000 years ago — one of the oldest continuous genetic lineages in any single geographic region.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Ethnic distribution Region Frequency Sample
Aboriginal Australians Australia
60%
n=150
Mongols East Asia / Central Asia
60%
n=500
Kazakhs Central Asia
40%
n=600
Papuans Oceania
30%
n=200

Tags

References

  1. Karafet et al. (2010) — Major east–west division underlies Y chromosome stratification across Indonesia. Molecular Biology and Evolution 27(8), 1833–1844.