Haplogroup H (mtDNA)

Haplogroup H is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. The clade is believed to have originated in West Asia, near present-day Syria, around 20,000 to 25,000 years ago. A specimen found in South Italy from 28000 years ago, in Paglicci Cave, was once believed to indicate haplogroup H, but researchers now recognize that CRS HVR1 also appears in U or HV, because there are no HVR1 mutations that separate CRS from the haplogroup R founder. Mitochondrial haplogroup H is today predominantly found in Europe, and is believed to have evolved before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). It first expanded in the northern Near East and Southern Caucasus, and later migrations from Iberia suggest that the clade reached Europe before the Last Glacial Maximum. The haplogroup has also spread from West Asia to parts of Africa, Siberia and Inner Asia. Today, around 40% of all maternal lineages in Europe belong to haplogroup H.