Description

Haplogroup C1 (F3393) is one of the two primary branches of the ancient macro-haplogroup C. It represents one of the earliest successful human expansions out of Africa, following the southern coastal route. While its descendants are found in geographically disparate regions — from the islands of Japan to the plains of Europe and the deserts of Australia — they all share a common ancestor who lived nearly 50,000 years ago, likely in South Asia. C1 is a testament to the incredible migratory capacity of early modern humans.

Interesting Fact

C1 is unique for its extreme geographical bifurcation: one of its main branches (C1a) split into groups that settled at opposite ends of Eurasia — in Japan and Western Europe — while its other branch (C1b) became the dominant lineage of Indigenous Australians.

Distribution by Ethnicity

Ethnic distribution Region Frequency Sample
Oceanian populations Oceania
20%
Japanese East Asia
5%
South Asians South Asia
2%

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.
  2. ISOGG Wiki — Haplogroup C (accessed 2026).