Mt-haplogroup T2 is a relatively widespread, yet mysterious haplogroup. Its distribution doesn't give much hint regarding its origin. The frequency of T2 varies widely within linguistic families or countries that otherwise share similar ancestry, and even between regions of a same country. The only consistent pattern is a fairly elevated percentage in all Balto-Slavic countries (6.5% to 8.5%).
It is not even clear when T2 first reached Europe. T2 has been found in all major Neolithic cultures in Europe (Starčevo, LBK, Cucuteni-Trypillian, Cardium Pottery, Atlantic Megalithic...), but like haplogroup J it could have been present in Southeast Europe since the Mesolithic.
T2 is divided in many subclades from T2a to T2l. The largest by far is T2b, which has 30 subclades of its own, and many more deep clades. The former subclades T3, T4 and T5 are now all listed under T2 (respectively T2c1a, T2a1b and T2e).
The highest frequencies of T2 are observed among the Udmurts (23.8%), an Uralic people from the Volga-Ural region, and the Chechens (12.5%) in the North Caucasus. In the western half of Europe T2 exceeds 10% only in the Netherlands, Iceland, Aragon, Sardinia, Calabria and the Adriatic coast of Italy. T2 is virtually absent from Cornwall and from the Saami population.
T2 is present across Central and North Asia. It has been found in Bronze Age sites linked to the Indo-Europeans in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. It is likely that T2 originated in the Near East or Caucasus, first entered Southeast Europe and the Pontic Steppe during the Mesolithic and/or Early Neolithic, then spread to the rest of Europe, Central Asia and North Asia during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. I don't have enough data on the subclade distribution outside Europe, but it seems that at least some subclades of T2b and T2e are linked to the Indo-Europeans.
UPDATE: a detailed page about the origins, history, distribution and subclades of haplogroup T is now available here.
It is not even clear when T2 first reached Europe. T2 has been found in all major Neolithic cultures in Europe (Starčevo, LBK, Cucuteni-Trypillian, Cardium Pottery, Atlantic Megalithic...), but like haplogroup J it could have been present in Southeast Europe since the Mesolithic.
T2 is divided in many subclades from T2a to T2l. The largest by far is T2b, which has 30 subclades of its own, and many more deep clades. The former subclades T3, T4 and T5 are now all listed under T2 (respectively T2c1a, T2a1b and T2e).
The highest frequencies of T2 are observed among the Udmurts (23.8%), an Uralic people from the Volga-Ural region, and the Chechens (12.5%) in the North Caucasus. In the western half of Europe T2 exceeds 10% only in the Netherlands, Iceland, Aragon, Sardinia, Calabria and the Adriatic coast of Italy. T2 is virtually absent from Cornwall and from the Saami population.
T2 is present across Central and North Asia. It has been found in Bronze Age sites linked to the Indo-Europeans in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. It is likely that T2 originated in the Near East or Caucasus, first entered Southeast Europe and the Pontic Steppe during the Mesolithic and/or Early Neolithic, then spread to the rest of Europe, Central Asia and North Asia during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. I don't have enough data on the subclade distribution outside Europe, but it seems that at least some subclades of T2b and T2e are linked to the Indo-Europeans.
UPDATE: a detailed page about the origins, history, distribution and subclades of haplogroup T is now available here.
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