Genetic Maps Of Europe

Europe has always been a melting pot of a wide range of diverse and unique civilisations, cultures, and languages. Genetic studies clearly reveal those things and showcase the formation of the European nations as we know them today. The peoples of these nations are formed themselves from a mixture of other ethnic groups which once inhabited a certain territory and afterwards left a trace on a country’s history (be it a cultural one, a linguistic one or even the genetic one we are actually speaking about).

To better understand the history of all European peoples and their culture, one must undoubtedly take a closer look at the very grain of their origins and so to analyse the process of ethnogenesis. In terms of genetics, a nation is characterised by two types of haplogroups: Y-chromosomal (stemming from the paternal side) and the mtDNA (mithocondrial DNA stemming from the maternal side).

Following the migration of mankind from Prehistoric times onwards, here’s a list with the Y-DNA haplogroup types that went on to develop and disperse in both Asia and Europe on through the time’s passing:

K haplogroup – originated 40,000 years ago (most likely in northern Iran)

T – originated 30,000 years ago (along the Red Sea coastlines and/or around the Persian Gulf)

J – originated 30,000 years ago (in the Middle East)

R – originated 28,000 years ago (in Central Asia)

E1b1b – originated 26,000 years ago (in Northeast Africa)

I – originated 25,000 years ago (in the Balkans)

J1 – originated 20,000 years ago (in the Taurus/Zagros mountains)

J2 – originated 19,000 years ago (in northern Mesopotamia)

E-M78 – originated 18,000 years ago (in north-eastern Africa)

R1b – originated 18,000 years ago (along the Caspian Sea coastline and/or Central Asia)

R1a – originated 17,000 years ago (in southern Russia)

G – originated 17,000 years ago (in the Middle East)

I2 – originated 17,000 years ago (in the Balkans)

E-V13 – originated 15,000 years ago (in the southern Levant or North Africa)

I2b – originated 13,000 years ago (in Central Europe)

N1c1 – originated 12,000 years ago (in Siberia)

E-M81 – originated 11,000 years ago (in Northwest Africa)

I2a – originated 11,000 years ago (in the Balkans)

G2a – originated 11,000 years ago (in the Levant or Anatolia)

R1b1b2 – originated 10,000 years ago (north or south of the Caucasus)

I2b1 – originated 9,000 years ago (in Germany)

I2a1 – originated 8,000 years ago (in Southwest Europe)

I2a2 – originated 7,500 years ago (in Southeast Europe)

I1 – originated 5,000 years ago (in Scandinavia)

R1b-L21 – originated 4,000 years ago (in Central or Eastern Europe)

R1b-S28 – originated 3,500 years ago (around the Alps)

R1b-S21 – originated 3,000 years ago (in Frisia or Central Europe)

I2b1a – originated less than 3,000 years ago (in Britain)

Source for the classification and origins of the Y-DNA haplogroups above: eupedia.com

Below are a series of maps which highlight the distribution of haplogroups in modern European nations. Firstly, here are the Y-DNA maps:

Secondly, here are some autosomal DNA maps:

Recently, a group of experts from Oxford University and University College in London published an interactive genetic map where you can discover the admixture of the world’s populations during the last 4,000 years.

You can also watch the following momondo video on genetic tests on Youtube: