Haplogroups / Maternal line
L2
The line that the Bantu expansion carried
The story of this line
L2 is the most common maternal lineage in West Africa. In the last three thousand years the Bantu expansion carried it from West-Central Africa across the continent to the south and east, and the Atlantic slave trade then carried it to the Americas, where it is the most common African maternal line today.
What it traces
L2 sits on the family tree of mitochondrial DNA, passed from mother to child. Following it back means following your mother, her mother, and so on back, one unbroken thread. It says nothing about the thousands of other ancestors you had at the same depth, which is the single most common misunderstanding about haplogroups.
The route, roughly
- East African Rift about 100 thousand years ago
- West Africa about 100 thousand years ago
- Southern Africa about 2 thousand years ago
A route drawn from where the branch arose and where it is found today. It is the path of one thread through your ancestry, not a map of where your family as a whole came from.
Is L2 your haplogroup?
If you have taken a test with 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, Family Tree DNA, TellMeGen or Living DNA, the answer is already sitting in the raw data file they gave you. You do not need another test.
Sequencings reads the file in your browser. It is never uploaded, and you can confirm that in your browser’s network tab while it happens.
Common questions
What is haplogroup L2?
L2 is a branch of the human maternal family tree, traced through mitochondrial DNA, passed from mother to child. L2 is the most common maternal lineage in West Africa. In the last three thousand years the Bantu expansion carried it from West-Central Africa across the continent to the south and east, and the Atlantic slave trade then carried it to the Americas, where it is the most common African maternal line today.
How old is haplogroup L2?
It first appeared about 90,000 to 100,000 years ago, in West and Central Africa. That is a coalescence estimate with a wide margin, not a date.
How do I find out if L2 is my haplogroup?
If you have taken a home DNA test, the answer is already in the raw data file you were given. Sequencings reads that file in your browser and traces both lines without uploading anything.
Does haplogroup L2 tell me about my health?
No. Haplogroups describe one line of descent. They are not used to assess health risk, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overreaching.
Sources
van Oven M, Kayser M. 2009. Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation. Hum Mutat 30(2):E386-E394. http://www.phylotree.org doi:10.1002/humu.20921