# Population Genetics > mtDNA Haplogroups > K >  Middle eastern genetic legacy in the paternal and maternal chuetas

## kingjohn

Abstract
Chuetas are a group of descendants of Majorcan Crypto-Jews (Balearic Islands, Spain) who were socially stigmatized and segregated by their Majorcan neighbours until recently; generating a community that, although after the seventeenth century no longer contained Judaic religious elements, maintained strong group cohesion, Jewishness consciousness, and endogamy. Collective memory fixed 15 surnames as a most important defining element of Chueta families. Previous studies demonstrated Chuetas were a differentiated population, with a considerable proportion of their original genetic make-up. Genetic data of Y-chromosome polymorphism and mtDNA control region showed, in Chuetas’ paternal lineages, high prevalence of haplogroups J2-M172 (33%) and J1-M267 (18%). In maternal lineages, the Chuetas hallmark is the presence of a new sub-branching of the rare haplogroup R0a2m as their modal haplogroup (21%). Genetic diversity in both Y-chromosome and mtDNA indicates the Chueta community has managed to avoid the expected heterogeneity decrease in their gene pool after centuries of isolation and inbreeding. Moreover, the composition of their uniparentally transmitted lineages demonstrates a remarkable signature of Middle Eastern ancestry—despite some degree of host admixture—confirming Chuetas have retained over the centuries a considerable degree of ancestral genetic signature along with the cultural memory of their Jewish origin.

Source:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78487-9

P.s
I put it here because surprisingly they carry
3.8% mtdna haplogroup k1a1b1a
an mtdna type which is one of the founders
Of aschenazi ...
Could be signature of real majorcan
Jews conversos🤔

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## Angela

The frequency in Chuetas of haplogroups rarely found in neighbouring populations—E1b-M78, Q1-P36.2, G-M201, and R1a1a-M17 (14, 10, 8, and 4%, respectively)—could also mean that they might have been present in the original Jewish Majorcan gene pool.

As to mtDna:
By means of the SAMPLING analyses, and also with the Behar et al.22 criterion, two haplogroups showed up as the founder lineages in the Chueta population: R0a + 60.1 T (~ 20%) and T1a (~ 6%).
The presence in Chuetas of haplogroups rarely found in neighbouring populations—L3eb + 152, U1a1a, and K1a1b1a (with frequencies of 5%, 5%, and 4%, respectively)—could also mean that they might have been present in the original Jewish Majorcan gene pool.
additionally, haplogroup K1a1b1a, which is a founder (8.5%) in the Iberian Exile Jewish community from Bulgaria, has a lower frequency in other populations with Sephardic origin (4% in Chuetas and 0.8% in Turkish Jews)22.
I think we expected this:
These results support some degree of Iberian admixture in Sephardic Jews19 and important gene flow from the host population in Bragança Crypto-Jews (with an R1b-M269 frequency of 28%), as suggested by Nogueiro et al.23.
Given that the majority of the Jews did actually convert and were lost in the population, the gene flow should have gone in the opposite direction as well, yet we don’t find some of these novel mtdna in the regular population. We do find 10% J2, but there could be numerous explanations for that.

Also interesting:
The haplotypes carried by the individuals of most surnames show a star-like distribution with only one or two mutational steps between them. Foundation of each Chueta surname by one or a very few individuals in the Christian conversions (fourteenth–fifteenth centuries) could explain these results. In a few cases, the same haplotype is shared by different surnames or, contrarily, individuals within a surname belong to very distant Y-lineages, although the scarcity of historical documents with the Christian names that converted Jews adopted does not allow us to assess the different scenarios that could explain these cases further.

Too bad that there wasn’t better resolution for all of this. For example, is the E-M78 really E-M78 or is some of it E-V13? Is it in the supplement.?

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## kingjohn

No, 
they didn't anlayse the e-m78 for farther downstream
And you say correctly there could be explanations if the e-m78 which is 14% compared to 2.2% in host majorcan (that is extreme difference) :Shocked: 

P.s
if the e-m78 was e-v22 could be levant origin
And if it is e-v13 could be reverse genflow from host to some extent
One thing is sure the chuetas are interesting people :Thinking:

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## Carlos

The surnames considered chuetas are: Aguiló, Bonnín, Cortès, Fortesa/Forteza, Fuster, Martí, Miró, Picó, Pinya/Piña, Pomar, Segura, Tarongí, Valentí, Valleriola and Valls. These derive from a much wider conversational community, given that the records of conversions, halfway between the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as those of the Inquisition, from the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, document more than 330 surnames among the converts and those condemned for Judaizing in Mallorca.

One detail that has attracted the attention of various scholars who have dealt with the subject, is that some Mallorcans carry surnames of clearly Jewish origin, which are not considered descendants of Hebrews, or chuetas (for example: Abraham, Amar, Bofill, Bonet, Daviu, Duran, Homar, Jordà, Maimó, Salom, Vidal and others).

Conversational origin is not a sufficient condition to be chueta; it is necessary that this origin has been fixed in the collective memory of the Mallorcan people through the identification of the families and lineages thus considered. Therefore, although chuetas are descendants of conversos, only a part of the descendants of conversos are chuetas.

Genetics


Several studies conducted mainly by the Department of Human Genetics at the University of the Balearic Islands have shown that they form a genetically homogeneous block related to eastern Jewish populations, but also related to Ashkenazi and North African Jews, both in the analysis of the Y chromosome, of patrilineal descent, as in the mitochondrial DNA, of matrilineal descent.

They may also present some pathologies of genetic origin, such as Mediterranean family fever, shared with the Sephardic Jews, and a high frequency of hemochromatosis, particular to this community.


https://blogs.ua.es/minoriasmarginadas/los-chuetas/


_How curious and convoluted the issue of surnames and that the chuetas have those Catalan surnames closely related to the Catalan language that I am seeing daily in the peninsula and other non-Jewish Mallorcans have surnames that seem more Jewish than those that the Jews themselves had.

If I follow the hypothesis about the origin of my surname, which hypothetically would have been a Catalan surname translated into_ Castilian language_ in the province of Malaga, the origin in Catalan of that surname is late Latin.

_If this hypothesis does not exist, there are Latin variants of the surname and the passage to Spanish would most likely be phonetically by Basque speakers of the romance as is already known. 

Since at present it exists in the two variants and in different variants without them corresponding to the same lineage as it always happens with the surnames.I looked some time ago at the list of surnames that *Tarbut Serfarad* has and it did not appear among the Sephardic surnames.

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## kingjohn

the k1a1b1a finding though is truly amazing  :Shocked: 
since there wasn't any migration of aschenazi people to majorca ( not that i know of) :Laughing: 
and it is rare in non- jewish majorcans 
very high chance it was realy an early mtdna founder lineage in the jewish diaspora  :Thinking:

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## Angela

With such inbreeding among such a small group, genetic load, i.e. inherited diseases, are to be expected. 

What intrigues me, though, is that there aren't more of the "Middle Eastern" y and mtDna given that there are records of certain conversos "really" converting and disappearing into the broader community, unless perhaps they left the island for places where they weren't known. That's certainly what I would have done.

The Chuetas, according to the paper, were the conversos who didn't leave the ghetto and were caught periodically still practicing Jewish rituals, although I don't know if they still do. I know the Belmondo Jews only practiced a few. American Orthodox rabbis have made some of them go through the conversion process because a clear genealogy to Jewish mothers doesn't really exist.

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## kingjohn

for me it is interesting that there *dominant* 
*y haplogroups are: G 10% J1 18% J2 33% e-m78 14%
these haplogroups are also found in moroccan jews in nice number %
and some reserach also found 8% e-v22 among moroccan jews*  :Thinking: *

p.s
*moroccan jews carry *mainly e-m78 branches* contrary to aschenazi and sefhardi jews from balkan 
who show mainly e-m123 branches

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## Angela

The paper seemed to say that Jews are first recorded in the islands in the 500s, yes? We know there were North African Jewish areas in North Africa even in the time of Christ, i.e. Simon of Cyrene, not to mention that probably one third of Alexandria at that time was Jewish. The riots between the Jews and the "Greeks", "Greeks" and Egyptians, or free for alls where everyone joined in are well document.

I'm sure they could have picked up a bit of E-V22, and some Arabian/Egyptian wives who converted. So, some of the ancestors of these people might have been North African Jews. More could have come with the Moorish invasions, and Sephardim are still related to Ashkenazim so it all makes sense.

Jewish genetics depends on the host society or societies which they encounter. 

It has also always intrigued me that although certain sub-groups of J1 are considered the "Jewish" y line, the percentage of J2 is often higher.

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## Carlos

As for the samples obtained between the
populations of Mallorca and Menorca, we have already
noted that no differences were found between
them. Nor is it possible to talk about differences
significant among these island populations and the
reference continents, nor with respect to those of
Catalonia or Valencia, nor in general with the rest of the
European population.

On the other hand, the population of the Pitiusas does present
a clear genetic divergence in relation to the
populations of Mallorca and Menorca. Nor does it show
the confluence that the Mallorcan and
Menorquinas have with the Catalan and Valencian ones.

What can explain this fact if Eivissa
was also conquered by the crown of Aragon?
One possible explanation may be the fact that
while Mallorca and Menorca were populated almost
immediately after the conquest, Eivissa, who
was given to the bishop of Tarragona, it had not been
repopulated one hundred years after the conquest. Without
However, in the opinion of the researchers, a
late repopulation would not explain a genetic drift
so acute

From the comparison of the data provided by the
pitiusas population with those of other populations
circummediterranean surprises that practically no
There is no convergence with any, not even with
populations of North Africa.

The Jewish Saga

The sample corresponding to the descendants of
The converted Jews of Mallorca have an affinity
with eastern populations and with other
Jewish populations, such as the Ashkenazi
or the Jewish populations of North Africa. Of the
The results of the research can be concluded that the
Chueta Majorcan population shows a great
similarity to the Jewish populations of the Middle East,
although this similarity does not allow us to say that
share a common origin, a "common Eve". At
In reality, there is no such thing as an "Eve
Jewish". The different populations show a contribution
genetic of different "mothers", of different lineages

The case of the Pitiuso is
paradigmatic: for some markers it shows
affinities with eastern populations, but it diverges from
these if other markers are considered. 






It is a case apart, an island; not in the geographical sense but
genetic of the word.

Several hypotheses could help explain the drift
genetics presented by the Pitiusa population. You could
to think of one or successive bottlenecks
population that would have drastically reduced the
population. Without ruling out these effects, the hypothesis
more plausible, however, seems to be that of a
founder. As it is known, Eivissa was founded by
Carthaginians and was not romanized, but only
annexed to Rome. If we also take into account the
late repopulation after the conquest of the island
by the crown of Aragon, it is very likely that the
Carthaginian genetic base has been maintained until
today. In fact, the proximity of some variables of the
Pituitary mitochondrial DNA with Eastern populations
fertilizes this hypothesis.
Only access to fossil DNA in good condition
belonging to Carthaginian remains could confirm
this hypothesis. Something that at the moment is nothing
simple.
In any case, the project carried out by

The Genetics Laboratory of the UIB has
differentiate three population blocks very well
defined in the Balearic Islands. 

https://www.uib.eu/digitalAssets/127/127862_gencast.pdf


There is nothing published about haplogroups.

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## kingjohn

In terms of paternal lineages, the results show that most Jewish communities are more similar to each other and to Middle Eastern populations than to their host populations. The Chueta population has the same behaviour, which can be observed by the high prevalence of haplogroups J2-M172 and J1-M267, and the lack of R1b-M269. *Haplogroup distribution in Chuetas is very similar to other Sephardic communities*, *although in their gene pool there might be signatures of other Jewish communities’ contribution, such as North African and Ashkenazim, which can be inferred from the presence of haplogroups such as E1b1b1a1-M78, Q1-P36.2, and R1a1a-M17*.

p.s
i think it is a shame that *they didn't anlaysed the autosomal dna of those chuetas individuals*  :Rolleyes: 
maternal and paternal lineages are not enough to come to conclusion 
i *think* that autosomally the chuetas will end much more southern european iberian than near eastern :Thinking:

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## Carlos

> In terms of paternal lineages, the results show that most Jewish communities are more similar to each other and to Middle Eastern populations than to their host populations. The Chueta population has the same behaviour, which can be observed by the high prevalence of haplogroups J2-M172 and J1-M267, and the lack of R1b-M269. *Haplogroup distribution in Chuetas is very similar to other Sephardic communities*, *although in their gene pool there might be signatures of other Jewish communities’ contribution, such as North African and Ashkenazim, which can be inferred from the presence of haplogroups such as E1b1b1a1-M78, Q1-P36.2, and R1a1a-M17*.
> 
> p.s
> i think it is a shame that *they didn't anlaysed the autosomal dna of those chuetas individuals* 
> maternal and paternal lineages are not enough to come to conclusion 
> i *think* that autosomally the chuetas will end much more southern european iberian than near eastern


We can believe so many things the question is to prove it with academic studies so there is only the option of guessing, but lately there have been so many surprises and unpredictability has been the result that we will have to wait for the cases to receive grants for more in-depth studies.

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