Haplogroup E1b1 (Y-DNA)

Haplogroup E-P2
Possible time of origin	30,000 - 38,200 years BP
Possible place of origin	East Africa
Ancestor	E-P177
Descendants	E-V38, E-M215
Defining mutations	DYS391p, L337, L339, L342, L487, L492, L613, P2/PN2, P179, P180, P181

E-P2, also known as E1b1, is a human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. This paternal clade had an ancient presence in the Middle East, and is now primarily distributed in Africa, with lower frequencies in the Middle East and Europe.

E-P2 is likely to have originated in the highlands of East Africa's Ethiopia, as this is the place with the high frequency of ancestral subclades of this haplogroup. E-P2 is the ancestor of the majority of E subclade lineages existing today. It has diverged into two subclades: E-V38 and E-M215 approximately 24-27,000 years ago.

Trombetta et al. 2011, further confirmed the previously suggested place of origin of this haplogroup by stating:

The new topology here reported has important implications as to the origins of the haplogroup E-P2. Using the principle of the phylogeographic parsimony, the resolution of the E-M215 trifurcation in favor of a common ancestor of E-M2 and E-M329 strongly supports the hypothesis that haplogroup E-P2 originated in eastern Africa, as previously suggested, and that chromosomes E-M2, so frequently observed in sub-Saharan Africa, trace their descent to a common ancestor present in eastern Africa.

Natufian fossils that were analysed for ancient DNA were found to carry the paternal haplogroup E1b1(xE1b1a1,E1b1b1b1) (1/5; 20%).

This haplogroup is now found mostly in Africa, mainly in the form of its predominant subclades E-M215 and E-V38. E-M215 is more common in Northern Africa and the Horn of Africa, and is also found at lower frequencies in the Middle East, Europe and Southern Africa. E-V38 is more common in West Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa and the African Great Lakes, and occurs at low frequencies in North Africa and Middle East.

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