Get to know Keith's paternal ancestors. Discover your own.

Keith's Ancestral Map

Keith is part of a paternal line that scientists have labeled haplogroup I2. The map below showswhere people of haplogroup I2 lived around 500 years ago, before modern transportation allowedpeople to easily move from continent to continent.

Haplogroup I2 is most abundant in eastern Europe and on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia,where it is found in 40% of the male population. Like its brother haplogroup, I1, I2 expandednorthward at the end of the Ice Age about 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. But unlike I1, whichexpanded from the Iberian peninsula into northwestern Europe, I2 radiated outward from theBalkans into the eastern half of the continent.

Quick Facts

Haplogroup: I2

Age: 28,000 years

Region: Eastern and Southern Europe

Populations: Balkans, Sardinians

Highlight: I2 is more common in southern Europe than I1.

Keith's Ancestral History

IntroductionI is found almost exclusively in Europe,where about 20% of men have Y-chromosomes belonging to the haplogroup.It began spreading about 30,000 to 45,000years among some of the first Homo sapiensto inhabit Europe.

The haplogroup's two main branches, I1 andI2, divided about 28,000 years ago.Archaeological evidence indicates it was atime of rapid change in Europe, as a newculture known as the Gravettian movedwestward across the continent. TheGrevettian people introduced new stone tool

technology, as well as novel art forms typified by the distinctive fertility symbols known as "Venus"figurines.

Not long after haplogroup I arrived in Europe, the advancing Ice Age limited most of the continent'sinhabitants to its southern fringes. Only Iberia, the Italian peninsula and the Balkans were mildenough to support substantial numbers of humans. As a result, the distribution of the haplogroup'sbranches today reflects the migrations that took place as the glaciers began retreating about 12,000to 15,000 years ago.

Doggerland: A Real-Life AtlantisOne of the places that was repopulated as the Ice Age waned no longer exists. During the Ice Ageand for some time afterward, lower sea levels exposed much of the area that is now covered by theNorth Sea. Known as "Doggerland," it must have been occupied by men bearing haplogroup I,because today that haplogroup is abundant in all of the countries surrounding the North Sea.

As the meltwaters of the retreating Ice Age glaciers caused sea levels to rise, the low-lying forestsand wetlands of Doggerland gradually became inundated. Doggerland's inhabitants retreated to thehigher ground that is now the North Sea coast.

Today the I2b1 branch of I2 is common in the Netherlands and Germany. Like I1, which is most

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What is a Haplogroup?

Haplogroup is the term scientists use to describe individual branches,or closely related groups of branches, on the genetic family tree of allhumans. All members of a haplogroup trace their ancestry back to asingle individual.

Haplogroup I2 is common in Bosnia.

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common in Denmark and Sweden, it was probably found among the men who inhabitedDoggerland. The presence of I2b1 in Sweden, particularly the northern province of Vasterbotten, islikely due to the more recent arrival of German and Dutch immigrants during the 17th century.

The Balkan BranchHaplogroup I2a is concentrated in eastern Europe and western Russia, reaching levels of 40% inBosnia and 30% in Croatia. It arose about 11,000 years ago in the Balkans, prior to the arrival ofagriculture. Soon after I2a arose, farmers from the Near East and Anatolia brought their techniquesto the Balkans, where the local men - who often bore haplogroup I2a - took up the practice.

A branch of I2a, I2a2, is also commonly found in the Balkans. It is a much younger haplogroup,having arisen about 7,800 years ago at a time when the climate was relatively warm compared tothe millennia before and after. Like I2a, hunter-gatherers bearing I2a2 began adopting the farmingpractices of men arriving from the east.

In the Spittoon...

The Balkan branch of haplogroup I2 is linked to the spread of agriculture in southeastern Europe.Learn more at the Spittoon.

Hidden in the PyreneesThe origins of the I2a1 branch of haplogroup I have been unclear for some time. Scientists nowbelieve it originated high in the Pyrenees, the string of mountains that separates Spain from France.It may have arisen during the peak of the Ice Age about 21,000 years ago, when small groups ofpeople retreated deep into the mountains to survive the harsh climate. About 12,000 years ago, astemperatures warmed and glaciers retreated, men bearing I2a1 expanded into Spain, France, andnearby Mediterranean Islands. Today I2a1 exists at moderate levels in its ancestral homeland,reaching about 8% among the people of the Pyrenees. It reaches extremely high levels on theisland of Sardinia, where 40% of men bear the haplogroup.

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