Haplogroup E-V68

Haplogroup E-V68, also known as E1b1b1a, is a major human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia and Europe. It is a subclade of the larger and older haplogroup, known as E1b1b or E-M215. The E1b1b1a lineage is identified by the presence of a single nucleotide polymorphism mutation on the Y chromosome, which is known as V68. It is a subject of discussion and study in genetics as well as genetic genealogy, archaeology, and historical linguistics.
E-V68 is dominated by its longer-known subclade E-M78. In various publications, both E-V68 and E-M78 have been referred to by other names, especially phylogenetic nomenclature such as "E3b1a" which are designed to show their place on the family tree of all males. These various names change as new discoveries are made and are discussed below.

Origins

E-M78, like its parent clade E-V68, is thought to have an African origin. Based on genetic STR variance data, suggests that this subclade originated in "Northeastern Africa", which in the study refers specifically to the region of Egypt and Libya.
Prior to, had proposed a place of origin for E-M78 further south in East Africa. This was because of the high frequency and diversity of E-M78 lineages in the region of Ethiopia. However, were able to study more data, and concluded that the E-M78 lineages in the Horn of Africa were dominated by relatively recent branches. They concluded that the region of Egypt was the likely place of origin of E-M78 based on "the peripheral geographic distribution of the most derived subhaplogroups with respect to northeastern Africa, as well as the results of quantitative analysis of UEP and microsatellite diversity".
also note this as evidence for "a corridor for bidirectional migrations" between Northeast Africa on the one hand and East Africa on the other. Because also proposed that E-M35, the parent clade of E-M78, originated in East Africa during the Palaeolithic and subsequently spread to the region of Egypt. E-M78 in East Africa, is therefore the result of a back migration. The authors believe there were "at least 2 episodes between 23.9–17.3 ky and 18.0–5.9 ky ago".
Another probable migration to the south from Egypt was noted by based upon their survey of Sudan. Specifically E-V12 and E-V22, "might have been brought to Sudan from North Africa after the progressive desertification of the Sahara around 6,000-8,000 years ago".
Northwards from Egypt and Libya, E-M78 migrated into the Middle East, but additionally proposed that the earlier E-V68 carrying population may have migrated by sea directly from Africa to southwestern Europe, because they observed cases of E-V68* only in Sardinia, and not in the Middle Eastern samples. Concerning E-M78, like other forms of E-V68 there is evidence of multiple routes of expansion out of an African homeland.
On the other hand, while there were apparently direct migrations from North Africa to Iberia and Southern Italy, the majority of E-M78 lineages found in Europe belong to the E-V13 subclade which appears to have entered Europe at some time undetermined from the Near East, where it apparently originated, via the Balkans.
Coming to similar conclusions as the Cruciani and Trombetta team,, writing prior to the discovery of E-V68, describe Egypt as "a hub for the distribution of the various geographically localized M78-related sub-clades" and, based on archaeological data, they propose that the point of origin of E-M78 may have been in a refugium which "existed on the border of present-day Sudan and Egypt, near Lake Nubia, until the onset of a humid phase around 8500 BC. The northward-moving rainfall belts during this period could have also spurred a rapid migration of Mesolithic foragers northwards in Africa, the Levant and ultimately onwards to Asia Minor and Europe, where they each eventually differentiated into their regionally distinctive branches".
The division of E-V68 into sub-clades such as E-V12, E-V13, etc. has largely been the work of an Italian team including Fulvio Cruciani, Beniamino Trombetta, Rosario Scozzari and others. They started on the basis of STR studies in 2004, and then in 2006 they announced the discoveries of single nucleotide polymorphism mutations which could define most of the main branches with better clarity, which was then discussed further in 2007. These articles were the basis of the updated phylogenies found in, and , which is in turn the basis of the phylogeny given below.
Keita examined a published Y-chromosome dataset on Afro-Asiatic populations and found that a key lineage E-M35/E-M78, sub-clade mutation of haplogroup E, was shared between the populations in the locale of original Egyptian speakers and modern Cushitic speakers from the Horn. These lineages are present in Egyptians, Berbers, Cushitic speakers from the Horn of Africa, and Semitic speakers in the Near-East. He noted that variants are also found in the Aegean and Balkans, but the origin of the M35 subclade was in East Africa, and its clades were dominant in a core portion of Afro-Asiatic speaking populations which included Cushitic, Egyptian and Berber groups, in contrast Semitic speakers showed a decline in frequency going west to east in the Levantine-Syria region. Keita identified high frequencies of M35 among Omotic populations, but stated that this derived from a small, published sample of 12. Keita also wrote that the PN2 mutation was shared by M35 and M2 lineages and this defined clade originated from East Africa. He concluded that "the genetic data give population profiles that clearly indicate males of African origin, as opposed to being of Asian or European descent" but acknowledged that the biodiversity does not indicate any specific set of skin colors or facial features as populations were subject to microevolutionary pressures.
Loosdrecht et al. analysed genome-wide data from seven ancient Iberomaurusian individuals from the Grotte des Pigeons near Taforalt in eastern Morocco. The fossils were directly dated to between 15,100 and 13,900 calibrated years before present. The scientists found that all the male specimens with sufficient nuclear DNA preservation belonged to the E1b1b1a1 subclade, with one skeleton bearing the E1b1b1a1b1 parent lineage to E-V13. Martiniano et al. later reassigned all the Taforalt samples to haplogroup E-M78 and none to E-L618, the predecessor to EV13.

Age

estimated that E-M78 has been in Europe longer than 10,000 years. And more recently, found that human remains excavated in a Spanish funeral cave dated to approximately 7000 years ago were in the E-V13 branch of E-M78.
In June 2015, the M78 mutation and the consequent beginning of the E-M78 and E-V68 family trees was dated by Trombetta et al. to approximately 20,300-14,800 years ago.

Family tree

This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup subclades is based on the ISOGG 2019 tree, as well as the FamilyTreeDNA™ tree.

Distribution

So far, three individuals who are in E-V68 but not E-M78 have been reported in Sardinia, by, when announcing the discovery of V68.
E-M78 is widely distributed in North Africa, Horn of Africa, West Asia, and Europe.
The most basal and rare E-M78* paragroup has been found at its highest frequencies in Egyptians from the Gurna Oasis, with lower frequencies also observed in Moroccan Arabs, Sardinians and the Balkans.
The highest frequencies of all the defined E-M78 sub-clades is primarily found amongst Afroasiatic-speaking populations in the large area stretching from the haplogroup's putative place of origin in Upper Egypt to the Sudan and the Horn of Africa.
Outside of this core area of distribution, E-V68 is also observed in other parts of the continent at lower frequencies due to more recent dispersals. It is thus found today in pockets of the African Great Lakes and Southern Africa owing to early Afro-Asiatic-speaking settlers from the Horn region, and as far west as Guinea-Bissau, where its presence has been tentatively attributed to trans-Saharan movements of people from North Africa.
The distribution of E-V68 in Europe is dominated by its E-V13 subclade, except in Iberia. E-V13 has a frequency peak centered in parts of the Balkans and Italy. It today has lower frequencies toward the western, central and northeastern areas, though E-V13 has been found in a Neolithic burial in Catalonia. This is discussed in more detail below.

Region	Population	n	E-M78	E-M78*	E-V12*	E-V13	E-V22	E-V32	E-V65	Study
Europe	Albanians	55	25.46% =	1.82% =		23.64% =
Europe	Macedonian Albanians	64	35.94% =	1.56% =		34.38% =
Europe	Albanians and Macedonian Albanians	55+ 64= 119	31.09% =	1.68% =		29.41% =				'
Europe	Kosovar Albanians	114	45.61% =	1.75% =		43.86% =
Europe	Albanians	96	32.29% =			32.29% =
Europe	Kosovar Albanians and Macedonian Albanians and Albanians	119+ 114+ 96= 329	36.47% =	1.22% =		35.26% =
Europe	Macedonian Aromanians	57	29.82			29.82
Europe	Serbians	113	20.35	1.77		18.58
Europe	Croatians	108	5.60			5.60
Europe	Crete	193	6.7% = 13/193			6.7% = 13/193
Europe	Greeks from Nea Nikomedeia	57	15.8% = 9/57	1.8% = 1/57		14.0% = 8/57
Europe	Greeks from Sesklo/Dimini	57	38.6% = 22/57	3.5% = 2/57		35.1% = 20/57
Europe	Greeks from Lerna/Franchthi	57	35.1% = 20/57			35.1% = 20/57
Europe	Greeks from Crete and Greeks from Nea Nikomedeia Greeks from Sesklo/Dimini from Lerna/Franchthi	193+ 57+ 57+ 57= 364	17.58% = 64/364	0.82% = 3/364		16.76% = 61/364				'
Europe	Continental Greeks	147	19.05% = 28/147			17.69% = 26/147	0.68% = 1/147		0.68% = 1/147
Europe	Greeks from Crete	215	6.51% = 14/215		0.93% = 2/215	5.58% = 12/215
Europe	Greeks from Aegean Islands	71	16.9% = 12/71			15.49% = 11/71	1.41% = 1/71
Europe	Continental Greeks Greeks from Crete Greeks from Aegean Islands	147+ 215+ 71= 433	12.47% = 54/433		0.46% = 2/433	11.32% = 49/433	0.46% = 2/433		0.23% = 1/433
Europe	Greeks from Crete and Greeks from Nea Nikomedeia Greeks from Sesklo/Dimini from Lerna/Franchthi Continental Greeks Greeks from Crete Greeks from Aegean Islands	364+ 433= 797	14.81% = 118/797	0.38% = 3/797	0.25% = 2/797	13.8% = 110/797	0.25% = 2/797		0.13% = 1/797
Europe	Sicilians	236	11.43		1.27	5.93	3.81		0.42
Europe	Huelva Andalusians	167	6.59		1.20	4.19		0.60	0.60
Europe	Macedonians	99	18.18			17.17	1.01
Europe	Bulgarians	204	16.67		0.49	16.18
Europe	Sicilians	153	13.07		0.65	7.19	4.58		0.65
Europe	Northern Italians	94	7.45			5.32	2.13
Europe	Central Italians	356	7.87		0.28	5.34	1.97		0.28
Europe	Southern Italians	141	10.64		0.71	8.51	1.42
Europe	Sardinians	374	3.48	0.27	0.27	1.07	0.8		1.07
Europe	Northern Portuguese	50	4			4
Europe	Southern Portuguese	49	4.08			4.08
Europe	Pasiegos from Cantabria	56
Europe	Asturians	90	10			5.56	4.44
Europe	Southern Spaniards	62	3.23				3.23
Europe	Spanish Basques	55
Europe	French Basques	16	6.25		6.25
Europe	French	225	4.44		0.44	4
Europe	English	28
Europe	Danish	35	2.86			2.86
Europe	Germans	77	3.9			3.9
Europe	Polish	40	2.5			2.5
Europe	Czechs	268	4.85			4.85
Europe	Slovaks	24	8.33			8.33
Europe	Slovenians	104	2.88			2.88
Europe	Estonians	74	4.05			4.05
Europe	Belarusians	40
Europe	Northern Russians	82	3.66			3.66
Europe	Southern Russians	92	2.17			2.17
Europe	Ukrainians	11	9.09			9.09
Europe	Moldovians	77	7.79			7.79
Europe	Hungarians	106	9.43			9.43
Europe	Romanians	265	7.55			7.17	0.38
Northwestern Africa	Moroccan Arabs	55	40	3.64			7.27		29.09
Northwestern Africa	Asni Berbers	54	3.7				3.7
Northwestern Africa	Bouhria Berbers	67	1.49			1.49
Northwestern Africa	Moyen Atlas Berbers	69	10.14						10.14
Northwestern Africa	Marrakech Berbers	29	6.9		3.45		3.45
Northwestern Africa	Moroccan Jews	50	12		2	2	8
Northwestern Africa	Mozabite Berbers	20
Northeastern Africa	Libyan Jews	25	8			4			4
Northeastern Africa	Libyan Arabs	10	20						20
Northeastern Africa	Northern Egyptians	72	23.61		5.56	1.39	13.89	2.78
Northeastern Africa	Egyptian Berbers	93	6.45		2.15				4.3
Northeastern Africa	Egyptians from Bahari	41	41.46		14.63	2.44	21.95		2.44
Northeastern Africa	Egyptians from Gurna Oasis	34	17.65	5.88	8.82			2.94
Northeastern Africa	Egyptians	70	79		79
Northeastern Africa	Southern Egyptians	79	50.63		44.3	1.27	3.8		1.27
Eastern Africa	Dinka	26	15.38		3.85		11.54
Eastern Africa	Shilluk	15	13.33				13.33
Eastern Africa	Nuer	12	16.67		16.67
Eastern Africa	Borgu	26	15.38				3.85	11.54
Eastern Africa	Nuba	28	25	3.57	3.57		7.14	10.71
Eastern Africa	Masalit	32	71.88	3.13			15.63	53.13
Eastern Africa	Fur	32	59.38				18.75	40.63
Eastern Africa	Nubians	39	15.38		12.82			2.56
Eastern Africa	Fulani from Sudan	26	34.62				30.77	3.85
Eastern Africa	Hausa from Sudan	32	3.13					3.13
Eastern Africa	Egyptian Copts from Sudan	33	15.15		15.15
Eastern Africa	Beja	42	35.71		4.76			30.95
Eastern Africa	Gaalien	50	18.00		6.00		6.00	6.00
Eastern Africa	Meseria	28	14.29		3.57			10.71
Eastern Africa	Arakien	24	16.67		8.33		4.17	4.17
Eastern Africa	Amhara	34	8.82					8.82
Eastern Africa	Ethiopian Jews	22	9.09					9.09
Eastern Africa	Mixed Ethiopians	12	33.33				25	8.33
Eastern Africa	Borana/Oromo	32	40.63					40.63
Eastern Africa	Wolayta	12	16.67				8.33	8.33
Eastern Africa	Saho from Eritrea	94	88.3				88.3
Eastern Africa	Somali from Ethiopia	12	33.3				8.3	25
Eastern Africa	Somali from Somalia	5	80					80
Eastern Africa	Somali from Kenya	6	80					80
Eastern Africa	Nilotic from Kenya	18	11.11				11.11
Eastern Africa	Bantu from Kenya	28	3.57					3.57
Eastern Africa	Western Africa	123	0.81		0.81
Eastern Africa	Central Africa	150	0.67		0.67
Eastern Africa	Southern Afric	105
Western Asia	Istanbul Turkish	35	8.57			2.86	5.71
Western Asia	Southwestern Turkish	40	2.5			2.5
Western Asia	Northeastern Turkish	41
Western Asia	Southeastern Turkish	24	4.17			4.17
Western Asia	Erzurum Turkish	25	4		4
Western Asia	Central Anatolian	61	6.56		1.64	4.92
Western Asia	Turkish Cypriots	46	13.04			10.87	2.17
Western Asia	Samaritan Levites	2	100				100
Western Asia	Sephardi Turkish	19
Western Asia	Palestinians	29	10.34			3.45	6.9
Western Asia	Druze Arabs	28	10.71			10.71
Western Asia	Bedouin	28	3.57				3.57
Western Asia	Syrians	100	2				2
Western Asia	Kurds from Iraq	20
Western Asia	Arabs from United Arab Emirates	40	2.5				2.5
Western Asia	Omanite	106	0.94				0.94
Western Asia	Adygei	18
Western Asia	Azeri	97	2.06			2.06