Haplogroups / Paternal line
E1b1b
Out of Africa and around the Mediterranean
The story of this line
E-M215 arose in East Africa and spread north and west. Its branches are the most common paternal lines in North Africa and are frequent in the Balkans, Italy, Greece and the Near East, one of the clearest genetic links across the Mediterranean.
What it traces
E1b1b sits on the family tree of the Y chromosome, passed from father to son. Following it back means following your father, his father, 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 25 thousand years ago
- Horn of Africa about 70 thousand years ago
- The Levant about 15 thousand years ago
- The Maghreb about 12 thousand years ago
- The Balkans about 8 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 E1b1b 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 E1b1b?
E1b1b is a branch of the human paternal family tree, traced through the Y chromosome, passed from father to son. E-M215 arose in East Africa and spread north and west. Its branches are the most common paternal lines in North Africa and are frequent in the Balkans, Italy, Greece and the Near East, one of the clearest genetic links across the Mediterranean.
How old is haplogroup E1b1b?
It first appeared about 20,000 to 25,000 years ago, in East and North Africa, the Near East, southern Europe. That is a coalescence estimate with a wide margin, not a date.
How do I find out if E1b1b 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 E1b1b 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
ISOGG Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree, marker coordinates via ybrowse.org (hg19).