Prehistoric and ancient presence Ancient G-M201s with sequencing Haplogroup G2a (G-P15) has been identified in Neolithic human remains in Europe dating between 5000 and 3000 BC. These Neolithic Europeans were descendants of Neolithic farmers from Anatolia, among some of the earliest peoples in the world to practice agriculture. G-M201 has also been found in Neolithic Anatolian sites such as Boncuklu dating back to 8300-7600 BCE, and Barcin dating back to 6419-6238 BCE. Furthermore, the majority of all the male skeletons from the
European Neolithic period have so far yielded Y-DNA belonging to this haplogroup. The oldest skeletons confirmed by
ancient DNA testing as carrying haplogroup G2a were five found in the
Avellaner cave burial site, near
Les Planes d'Hostoles, in
Catalonia,
Spain and were dated by
radiocarbon dating to about 5000 BCE. A skeleton found at the Neolithic cemetery known as
Derenburg Meerenstieg II, in
Saxony-Anhalt Germany, apparently belonged to G2a3 (G-S126) or a subclade. It was found with burial artifacts belonging to the
Linearbandkeramische Kultur ("
Linear Band Ceramic Culture"; LBK). This skeleton could not be dated by radiocarbon dating, but other skeletons there were dated to between 5,100 and 6,100 years old. The most detailed SNP mutation identified was S126 (L30), which defines G2a3. G2a was found also in 20 out of 22 samples of ancient Y-DNA from
Treilles, the type-site of a Late Neolithic group of farmers in the
Southern France, dated to about 5000 years ago. The fourth site also from the same period is the
Ötztal Alps where the mummified remains of
Ötzi the Iceman were discovered. The Iceman belongs to haplogroup G2a2b (earlier called G2a4). Haplogroup G2a2b is a rare group today in Europe. The authors of the Spanish study indicated that the Avellaner men had rare marker values in testing of their
short tandem repeat (STR) markers. During the
Chalcolithic, haplogroup G was considered ubiquitous in Anatolia, constituting a significant amount of local Y-DNA haplogroups, along with haplogroup J. It remained common throughout the Chalcolithic, Bronze and
pre-Roman ages. A 2004 paper found significant correlation between the
Hattian and
Kaskian cultures, with the presence of haplogroup G, noting however that higher variances of the G2-P15 subclade exist towards western Anatolia. Substantial amounts of haplogroup G have been discovered in samples ascribed to the
Bronze Age Mycenaean Greeks, at an approximate frequency of 25%, as well as members the
Minoan civilisation.
Modern presence In
Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia, members of various ethnic minorities and/or residents in particular localities possess G-M201 at its highest levels in the world – even though the average rate at the national level is about 1% or less. The Turkic
Madjar and
Argyn tribes (or clans) of
Kazakhstan were found to possess the highest levels of G-M201 among any modern ethnic group. Amongst the Madjars,
G1 was found at a rate of 87%. A separate study on the Argyns found that 71% of males belong to G1. In the Russian
North Caucasus the
Kabardinian and
Ossetian populations are also notable for high rates of G-M201.
Digora, North Ossetia has the highest known concentration of G in a single city, as 74% of the tested men were G. Haplogroup G is found as far east as northern China in small percentages where G can reach more substantial percentages in minority groups such as the Uyghurs. In
Turkey, the South Caucasus and Iran, haplogroup G reaches the highest percentage of national populations. Among
Turkish males 11% of the population is G. In Iran, Haplogroup G reaches 13 to 15% of the population in various parts of the country. While it is found in percentages higher than 10% among the
Bakhtiari,
Talysh people,
Gilaki,
Mazandarani and
Iranian Azeris, it is closer to 5% among the Iranian
Arabs and in some large cities. Among the samples in the YHRD database from the southern Caucasus countries, 29% of the samples from
Abazinia, 31% from
Georgia, 18% from
Azerbaijan and 11% from
Armenia appear to be G samples. In
Europe west of the
Black Sea, Haplogroup G is found at about 5% of the population on average throughout most of the continent. The concentration of G falls below this average in
Scandinavia, the westernmost former
Soviet republics and
Poland, as well as in
Iceland and the
British Isles. There are seeming pockets of unusual concentrations within Europe. In
Wales, a distinctive G2a3b1 type (DYS388=13 and DYS594=11) dominates there and pushes the G percentage of the population higher than in England. In
Corsica, haplogroup G reaches the highest frequency of any European region outside the Caucasus, accounting for 21.7% of all male haplogroups. In a study on the
Tirol (Tyrol) region of western
Austria, the percentage of G-M201 was found to be 11.3%, although frequencies can reach 40% or more within certain valleys; perhaps the most famous example is the ancient remains of the so-called "Iceman",
Ötzi. In the northern and highland areas of the island of
Sardinia off western
Italy, G percentages reach 11% of the population in one study and reached 21% in the town of
Tempio in another study. In the Greek island of
Crete, approximately 7% to 11% of males belong to haplogroup G. In north-eastern
Croatia, in the town of
Osijek, G was found in 14% of the males. The city is on the banks of the river
Drava, which notably begins in the Tirol/Tyrol region of the Alps, another haplogroup G focus area in Europe. Farther north, 8% of ethnic Hungarian males and 5.1% of ethnic Bohemian (Czech) males have been found to belong to Haplogroup G. In
South Asia, haplogroup G is rare. Some ethnic minorities possess it at considerable concentrations, including approximately 18% of
Kalash, approximately 16% of
Brahui, all of whom native to the easternmost regions of the
Iranian Plateau, while it only appears in about 3% of the general
Pakistani population. In a study of 936
Indians, haplogroup G made up less than 1% of the sample and was completely absent in the tested north-western Indian population. In one study, about 6% of the samples from
Sri Lanka and
Malaysia were reported as haplogroup G, but none were found in the other coastal lands of the
Indian Ocean or
Pacific Ocean in Asia. G-M201 has been described as "almost absent" and "virtually absent" in India, with the G2a-P15 subclade in particular being considered to be negligible, indicating unique dispersal events from Western Asia. In the
Middle East, haplogroup G accounts for about 3% of the population in almost all areas. Among the
Druze mostly residents of
Israel 10% were found to be haplogroup G. Around 10% of
Jewish males are Haplogroup G. In
Africa, haplogroup G is rarely found in
sub-Saharan Africa or south of the
horn of Africa among native populations. In
Egypt, studies have provided information that pegs the G percentage there to be between 2% and 9%. 3% of North African
Berbers were found to be haplogroup G. 2% of Arab
Moroccans and 0.8% of Berber Moroccans were likewise found to be G. In the
Americas, the percentage of haplogroup G corresponds to the numbers of persons from Old World countries who emigrated. It is not found among
Native Americans except where intermarriage with non-native persons has occurred. It has been found in Mexican mestizos. ==G1 (M285 or M342)==