Haplogroups
Haplogroups are the groupings of mankind based on analysis of the DNA which has been passed down from our ancestors since the beginning of mankind.
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These haplogroup branches characterize the early migrations of population groups.
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As a result, haplogroups are usually associated with a geographic region and can tell us about our ancient ancestors and their migrations.
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Haplogroups were assigned letters of the alphabet before the complete analysis was done which means that the specific letter assignment itself is meaningless.
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Your haplogroup is automatically tested and confirmed for mtDNA tests. For Y-DNA tests, your haplogroup is predicted based on a large database that Family Tree DNA has for this purpose.
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If haplogroups are the branches of the tree then the haplotypes represent the leaves of the tree. All of the haplotypes that belong to a particular haplogroup are leaves on the same branch. Both mtDNA and Y-DNA tests provide haplogroup information, but remember that the haplogroups nomenclature are different for each.
Y-DNA haplogroups
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A Y-DNA haplogroup is defined as all of the male descendants of the single person who first showed a particular SNP mutation. A SNP mutation identifies a group who share a common ancestor far back in time, since SNPs rarely mutate. Each member of a particular haplogroup has the same SNP mutation. For a single page graphic representation of the Y chromosome haplogroup tree, please see the haplotree.
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More about Y-DNA Haplogroups
Y-DNA Haplogroup Origins
mtDNA haplogroups
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An mtDNA haplogroup is defined as all of the female descendants of the single person who first showed a particular polymorphism, or SNP mutation. Like Y-DNA SNP mutations, an mtDNA SNP mutation identifies a group who share a common ancestor far back in time.
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More information and a map of mtDNA haplogroups
mtDNA Haplogroup Origins
