At that time much of Europe was covered by glacial ice sheets that descended southward from Scandinavia and extended across the alpine regions of the Pyrenees and Italian Alps. People who had formerly inhabited continental Europe sought refuge in the warmer climates of southern France, the Iberian and Italian peninsulas. The H1 mutation likely arose in a woman living on the Iberian peninsula. Even today, almost 25% of the Spanish population carries the H1 haplogroup. With the waning of the Ice Age, some populations grew rapidly and expanded northward from the Iberian refuge. Others turned southward, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar into northern Africa. Following the Atlantic coast northwards, hunter-gatherers carried H1 into what would become the British Isles. As the ice sheets retreated farther they carried the haplogroup as far as Scandinavia. The H1 haplogroup remains quite high in the present-day populations of Britain and Ireland as well, ranging from levels of 15% to 40%. About 13% of present-day Europeans trace their maternal ancestry to the H1 haplogroup. Though it is of western European origin, it also reaches significant levels outside Europe, from Morocco and Tunisia to Lebanon and east into Central Asia. H1a H1a originated during the Younger Dryas Cycle, a short cold snap between 12,900 and 11,500 years ago that interrupted the general warming trend at the end of the Ice Age. Forests in Scandinavia were replaced by tundra, and droughts occurred in the Near East. After this cooling cycle ended, a group carrying H1a rapidly expanded from southern Europe northward into Finland and eastern Europe. After reaching the Baltic Sea, individuals with H1a eventually moved farther east into the Finno-Ugric speaking populations who lived along the Volga River and in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Ancestry Composition tells you what percent of your DNA comes from each of 22 populations worldwide. The analysis includes DNA you received from all of your ancestors, on both sides of your family. The results reflect where your ancestors lived 500 years ago, before ocean-crossing ships and airplanes came on the scene. 98.1% European 0.7% East Asian & Native American 0.3% Sub-Saharan African 0.9% Unassigned
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 00:15:34 +0000
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