# Population Genetics > mtDNA Haplogroups >  New map of East & North Asian mtDNA haplogroups in Europe and the Middle East

## Maciamo

I have created a map showing the distribution of East & North Asian (Mongoloid) mtDNA haplogroups in Europe and the Middle East. This includes haplogroups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M7, M8, Y and Z.



ANALYSIS:

*Western Europe*

Western Europe has the lowest percentage of East Asian haplogroups, with an average of 0.3%. No country has 0%, but the current data shows that Basques and Cantabrians have 0%. It is not surprising that Western Europeans should have less North/East Asian mtDNA than Central or East Europeans since they are geographically furthest from Asia. R1b men came from the Middle East before becoming Indo-European speakers in the Pontic Steppe and invading Europe. This isn't the case of R1a people who already had some Mongoloid mtDNA (and physical feature based on archaeology) in the Pontic-Caspian Steppe at least since the Neolithic, but more probably since the Palaeolithic.

What piqued my interest is the slightly elevated percentage of East Asian lineages in Catalonia, Vendée and Cornwall. These regions were already special within Western Europe for having fairly high levels of U4, a lineage with strong affinities with Eastern Europe and the Volga-Ural region. Catalonia also has a lot of hg U5, V and W, all very common in Northeast Europe. The Asian haplogroups differ between these three regions though. Catalonia possess hg A and C, Vendée hg B and F, while Cornwall has only hg F. Haplogroup F has also been found at relatively high frequency (8.3%) on the island of Hvar in Croatia, a known hotspot for Y-haplogroup Q (6.1%). MtDNA F is found almost exclusively in East Asia, and to a lower extent to places settled by the Mongols. The association with Q in Hvar is surely a sign that some Huns or Mongols settled on this island. It is less clear how it ended up in Cornwall and Western France.

Haplogroup B has been found in the Rhône valley of France, a region also known for being a hotspot of Y-haplogroup Q with possible Hunnic connection.

Haplogroups D and G have been found in Austria.

Boattini et al. (2013) found in total 2.4% of hg A, C, D and M in Sicily. However the study by Brisighelli et al. didn't find any of these. It is difficult to guess how these Asian lineages ended up in Sicily, since there is hardly any East Asian mtDNA in Italy, Greece or North Africa.


*Northeast Europe*

In Fennoscandia, Asian mtDNA peaks among the Finnish Saami (up to 15%). The Saami carry mostly *haplogroups D5 and Z*.

Slavic populations carry mostly *haplogroup C*, a lineage already found in Neolithic Ukraine and Hungary, and therefore represents some of the oldest Mongoloid admixture among Europeans. I have hypothesised that mtDNA C (alongside U and X) was one of the original lineages of Y-haplogroups P, Q and R when these haplogroups appear in Central or North Asia around the Last Glacial Maximum.

Russia obviously has the greatest diversity of North/East Asian mtDNA. Haplogroups A, C, D, G2a and Z have all been found among European Russians. Interestingly I haven't found any study mentioning haplogroups B and F in Russia yet.

The detailed study on Belarus by Kushniarevich et al. 2013 found haplogroups C*, C5, D4b1, G and M10a1 among the Asian lineages.


*Middle East and Caucasus*

Altaic people such as the Turks and Kurds possess mostly mtDNA B, C and G.

The picture is far more complex in the Caucasus and Caspian region. The Kalmyks and Nogays are the most Asian ethnicity in the region and possess all the major North/East Asian haplogroups except E, which seem to be absent from Europe and the Middle East altogether. The Nogays also seem to lack hg Y. 

Haplogroup A, B, F and Z are quite rare in the Caucasus. The most common Mongoloid lineages are C (peaking among the Abkhazians, Cherkessians and Kabardin) and D (found in all Caucasian populations except the Armenians, Avars, Dargins, Andis, Bagvalals and Chamalals). Haplogroup G is found mostly in the Northwest Caucasus and among the Kumyks and Nogays.

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## Barbaros

One thing I've noticed is that countries with moderate to high levels of R1b, have low or almost none of those East & North Asian mtDNA's. For example the British Isles, France, Greece and Armenia. One could speculate on why, but I think there are historical reasons for that.

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## palamede

Vendee knew a sarmatian population of Taifals in the V-VIth century AD implanted either by Romans or by Wisigoth kings

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## Melancon

> I have created a map showing the distribution of East & North Asian (Mongoloid) mtDNA haplogroups in Europe and the Middle East. This includes haplogroups A, B, C, D, E, F, G, M7, M8, Y and Z.


Croatia has no East Asian mtdna? I thought mtdna haplogroup F was prevalent there, in small quantities.

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## Expredel

This map seems to support Grant's theories and seems to match R1a migrations.



Grant also indicates some kind of Alpine incursion into Sicily. I think he's also closer to the truth about R1b migration routes. His idea of continental nordics seems wrong to me however.

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## Alexandra_K

I happened to read this searching for background info on my maternal haplogroup, which is A4a1. I come from Northwestern Greece and from everything I read or hear, this must be a rare combination. I was told it must be due to the Slavo-Avaric or the Turkish migration in the area. Any thoughts?

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## Osmond

On the slightly elevated percentage of Mongoloid mtdna in Vendée; there was evidently a small Alanic (Indo-Iranian) settlement around there for a few centuries, and Sarmatians (also Indo-Iranians) from Eastern Europe soon followed. From about the 4th to 6th centuries. I hypothesize that the Alans/Sarmatians possibly carried a large bit of Mongoloid ancestry, since they originated in East Europe/the Caucasus; and thus they also intermingled at low frequency with the already-local Celtic Gauls. 

As for the sharp increase of Mongoloid mtdna and Y Haplogroup Q in Eastern France - I read that a Roman general had a few Huns lineup against the Rhine and in Burgundy. So, after the Huns were defeated they were probably forced to intermix with Romans and Burgundians. (or maybe even: some Burgundians already took in Huns as Gothic soldiers; and later intermixed with them even more, after the Hunnic Empire declined. So therefore, this is probably why there is a huge spike in Haplogroup Q in the Rhone-Alpes / French Switzerland region and the Rhine. etc.)

The Haplogroup Q in Normandy is most likely not Hunnic related and is most likely related to the Normans, instead. Their invasions later brought an even bigger proportion of Haplogroup Q into England during invasion. (although the Haplogroup Q in Eastern England up to Southeastern Scotland is probably related more to the Anglo-Saxons than to the Normans.)

Norse Vikings that invaded Scotland also probably dispersed Haplogroup Q at very low frequencies, along with Haplogroup I. Before all this happened - Scotland was probably over 80-90% R1b. I propose the same for Ireland - i.e. that there was a much higher R1b _Celtic_ percentage before Norman invasion, etc.)

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## Osmond

> Boattini et al. (2013) found in total 2.4% of hg A, C, D and M in Sicily. However the study by Brisighelli et al. didn't find any of these. It is difficult to guess how these Asian lineages ended up in Sicily, since there is hardly any East Asian mtDNA in Italy, Greece or North Africa.


If the former finding by Boattani is true; perhaps it is because the Vandals or the Alans dispersed them there. Or maybe both of them simultaneously. The Normans also settled in Sicily for a while, so it is also quite possible that they may have brought some (or even more) East Asian mtdna to Sicily, as well.

I have no idea about how the Cornish or the Catalans got their East Asian DNA. Perhaps the Cornish people either got their East Asian mtdna from the Normans; or they somehow intermixed with Indo-Iranians. (perhaps some Indo-Iranian tribes crossed into Roman-Britain there before Anglo-Saxon invasion?) Or, it could be that may be Brythonic Celts intermixed with East Asians in antiquity/prehistory, when Proto-Celts were still in the Ukrainian Steppe. And it has only peaked/showed up in Cornwall because of massive homogeneity. (inbreeding) *Also, it is a little known fact that the Welsh and possibly the Cornish, have a very small percentage of Berber DNA. Perhaps some of these Roman leaders that intermixed with Brythonic Celts were not entirely Roman - and some may have even been Berber, Jewish, Arab or even Hun?)*

As for the Catalans - perhaps these are not actually Mongoloid mtdna at all but could they actually be very archaic forms of Caucasoid mtDNA? (Such as mtdna C1 for example.) The Guanche Berbers of the Canary Islands were almost exclusively haplogroup U6 maternally (which is identified as Caucasoid; but they also carried mtdna M which is usually categorized as Asian and also Haplogroup L which is categorized as African. But, they were evidently _Caucasoids_ - and genetically most likely of Neolithic European origin - before Spanish invasion. So, maybe the *mtdna A and C* in *Catalans* are actually _not_ *Mongoloid* in origin - but are actually _very archaic forms_ of _Caucasoid_ mtdna - just like the *M and L* found in *Berberids*, etc.)

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## italouruguayan

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/...n-family-tree/

Perhaps the mtDNA A present in Catalonia is of American origin, as happened in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula ...

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## ratchet_fan

Does this still Hold true?

"
Slavic populations carry mostly *haplogroup C, a lineage already found in Neolithic Ukraine and Hungary, and therefore represents some of the oldest Mongoloid admixture among Europeans. I have hypothesised that mtDNA C (alongside U and X) was one of the original lineages of Y-haplogroups P, Q and R when these haplogroups appear in Central or North Asia around the Last Glacial Maximum."*

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