Haplogroups / Maternal line
N
The other line that left Africa
The story of this line
N is the ancestor of nearly every maternal lineage in Europe and of many in Asia and the Americas. It and M split within a few thousand years of the exit from Africa, which is why so much of human maternal diversity outside Africa fans out from such a narrow root.
What it traces
N 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 150 thousand years ago
- Horn of Africa about 70 thousand years ago
- Arabian peninsula about 62 thousand years ago
- The Levant about 50 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 N 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 N?
N is a branch of the human maternal family tree, traced through mitochondrial DNA, passed from mother to child. N is the ancestor of nearly every maternal lineage in Europe and of many in Asia and the Americas. It and M split within a few thousand years of the exit from Africa, which is why so much of human maternal diversity outside Africa fans out from such a narrow root.
How old is haplogroup N?
It first appeared about 55,000 to 60,000 years ago, in Southwest Asia. That is a coalescence estimate with a wide margin, not a date.
How do I find out if N 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 N 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