Haplogroup H (mtDNA)

Haplogroup H
Possible time of origin	20,000–25,000 YBP
Possible place of origin	Southwest Asia
Ancestor	HV
Descendants	H* lineages, H1, H2, H3, H4, H5'36, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10, H11, H12, H13, H14, H15, H16, H18, H19, H20, H22, H23, H24, H25, H26, H28, H29, H31, H32, H33, H34, H35, H37, H38, H39, 16129(H17+H27), 16129(H21+H30)
Defining mutations	G2706A, T7028C

Haplogroup H is a (mtDNA) haplogroup. The clade is believed to have originated in Southwest Asia, around 20,000–25,000 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 between 33,000 and 26,000 years ago, and later migrations from Iberia suggest it reached Europe before the Last Glacial Maximum. The clade has also spread to parts of Africa, Siberia and inner Asia. Today, about 40% of all maternal lineages in Europe belong to haplogroup H.

Haplogroup H is a descendant of haplogroup HV. The Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS), which until recently was the human mitochondrial sequence to which all others were compared, belongs to haplogroup H2a2a1 (human mitochondrial sequences should now be compared with the ancestral Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence (RSRS)). Several independent studies conclude that haplogroup H probably evolved in West Asia c. 25,000 years ago. It was carried to Europe by migrations c. 20,000–25,000 years ago, and spread with population of the southwest of the continent. Its arrival was roughly contemporary with the rise of the Gravettian culture. The spread of subclades H1, H3 and the sister haplogroup V reflect a second intra-European expansion from the Franco-Cantabrian region after the last glacial maximum, c. 13,000 years ago.

In July 2008 ancient mtDNA from an individual called Paglicci 23, whose remains were dated to 28,000 years ago and excavated from Paglicci Cave (Apulia, Italy), were found to be identical to the Cambridge Reference Sequence in HVR1. This once was believed to indicate haplogroup H, but researchers now recognize that CRS can also appear in U or HV. Haplogroup HV derives from the Haplogroup R0 which in turn derives from haplogroup R is a descendant of macro-haplogroup N like its sibling M, is a descendant of haplogroup L3.

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