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Y-DNA Haplogroup Atlas

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Haplogroup C

C-M130

Macro-haplogroup
C
Parent clade
CT
Formed (estimate)
c. 65,000–75,000 years before present
TMRCA (estimate)
c. 55,000–60,000 years ago

Overview

Haplogroup C (M130) is one of the earliest and most geographically expansive paternal lineages to emerge from the CT population immediately following the major out-of-Africa dispersals. Its early divergence and rapid eastward expansion positioned C as a foundational Y-chromosome lineage across Asia, Oceania and the prehistoric Pacific. C is particularly important for understanding the settlement of Sahul, the deep ancestry of East and Southeast Asia, and the earliest human groups that moved along the southern coastal route toward Australasia. Archaeogenetic evidence indicates that C lineages were among the first modern humans to colonize eastern Eurasia, forming distinct sub-branches that later became regionally entrenched among Siberian foragers, Southeast Asian hunter-gatherers and the founding populations of Oceania.

Geographic distribution

Modern representatives of haplogroup C are broadly but unevenly distributed. Major concentrations occur in Mongolia, Siberia, East Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Aboriginal Australia and Polynesia. Lower-frequency remnants are found across South Asia and scattered throughout Central Asia. Some subclades of C (especially C2/M217) show very high frequencies in Mongolia and among Tungusic- and Turkic-speaking groups.

Ancient DNA

  • Paleolithic individuals from northern China and Siberia carry early C lineages associated with eastern Eurasian population formation.
  • Australo-Melanesian samples show deep C branch ancestry linked to the initial human settlement of Sahul over 45,000 years ago.
  • Jōmon period individuals in Japan reveal C1a lineages that persisted in pre-agricultural coastal populations.

Phylogeny & subclades

Haplogroup C splits early into C1 and C2. C1 contains several ancient and regionally fragmented branches (C1a, C1b, C1c), while C2/M217 is one of the most successful paternal expansions in northern and eastern Asia.

  • C1
  • C2

Notes & context

Haplogroup C is one of the oldest and most important non-African paternal lineages, reflecting the earliest wave of human settlement across Asia and Oceania.