A dispersed lineage of the Near East, Africa and the Mediterranean
Haplogroup T, defined by M184, is an uncommon but remarkably widely scattered lineage. Never dominant across a large region, it appears at low to moderate frequencies from the Near East and East Africa through the Mediterranean to South Asia, with some notably high local pockets that stand out against its generally thin distribution.
Haplogroup T is found in a broad scatter rather than a single centre. It occurs across the Near East, in East Africa — including the Horn — around the Mediterranean in parts of Italy, Iberia and the islands, and into South Asia. Against this generally low-frequency background there are striking local concentrations, such as among some communities in East Africa and isolated populations elsewhere, where T reaches unusually high levels.
Haplogroup T is generally associated with an origin in the Near East or Southwest Asia, from where it dispersed widely but thinly across three continents. Its scattered distribution and local pockets are consistent with an old lineage that spread through many separate movements rather than one large expansion. As with other lineages of this depth, the dating is estimated broadly and varies between studies.
T divides into branches, principally T1 and T2, with T1 being the more common and widespread. Downstream lineages of T1 account for much of its Near Eastern, Mediterranean and East African distribution, while other branches are rarer and more localised. The internal structure has been used to study how such a thinly spread lineage came to occupy so wide a range.
A T result indicates an uncommon lineage with possible roots anywhere across a wide Near Eastern, Mediterranean, East African or South Asian range. Because T is rare and scattered, downstream SNP testing is especially valuable for placing your specific branch, and comparison with others carrying T on the map can be particularly informative given how few there are.
Live counts by country are shown on this page once the map data loads.