The other side
The lineage breakdown
The African continent sits at the meeting point of the deepest and the most widespread paternal lineages in the world. Five of them tell the story.
A
The oldest surviving paternal lineage on earth, formed over 300,000 years ago. Present at low frequency in West Africa; dominant among Khoisan, Nilotic and Central African forager populations.
Open lineage
B
The second deepest branch, concentrated among Central African rainforest peoples — Baka, Mbuti, Twa — and found at low frequency across West Africa.
Open lineage
E
The most frequently observed paternal lineage in Africa and its diaspora; parent of both E1a and E1b.
Open lineage
E1a
E-M33. A Sahelian lineage found in Mali, Guinea and the Senegambia; a minority lineage among coastal West Africans, carried along Saharan trade routes.
Open lineage
E1b
E-M2 / E-M180 in West Africa, at very high frequency among Akan and neighbouring populations; E-M81 and E-M78 dominate the north.
Open lineage
Photo gallery
Ashanti
Ghana
Baka
Central African Republic
Tuareg
Niger
Bamileke
Cameroon
Bakongo
Congo
Edo
Nigeria
Habesha
Ethiopia
Berber
Morocco
Khoi San
South Africa