Overview
E-P115 is one of the most consequential sub-branches of the E-M191 lineage, representing a major demographic force behind the peopling of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa over the last two millennia. Emerging in the broader ecological and cultural landscape of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon, E-P115 diversified during a period marked by intensified agricultural production, increased population density and the formation of socio-political structures across Bantoid-speaking regions. Its phylogenetic architecture indicates a lineage poised for expansion: sustained growth, relatively shallow divergence among several of its downstream subclades and wide-scale distribution across expansive geographic areas. These features align closely with the dynamics underlying the Bantu-speaking expansions that connected the Gulf of Guinea to the Congo Basin, Great Lakes and southeastern African corridors. E-P115 is not solely a 'Bantu' marker but a lineage deeply embedded in the demographic layers that generated these broader cultural trajectories.
Geographic distribution
E-P115 is found today throughout West Central Africa, especially in southeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and the western Congo Basin. From these core regions, numerous downstream branches moved along major ecological corridors including the Congo River system, the Sangha basin and the forest-to-savanna transition zones stretching toward the Great Lakes and Zambezi regions. Its highest continental-wide frequencies are observed in both western and central parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, Zambia, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. In Southern Africa, E-P115 is common among several Bantu-speaking populations of Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and northern South Africa. Among the African diaspora in the Americas, E-P115 is well represented, consistent with its demographic prominence in West and West Central Africa during the relevant historical periods.
Ancient DNA
- No direct ancient DNA belonging to E-P115 has yet been recovered, but its internal branching patterns and divergence times align with material culture developments in the Grassfields and southern Cameroon uplands, where early Bantoid communities transitioned toward increased sedentism.
- The temporal depth of major E-P115 subclades is consistent with the expansion phases associated with the movement of agricultural populations along the Atlantic forests and into the Congo Basin.
- Regional presence of diverse sub-branches across the Great Lakes region corresponds closely with archaeological evidence for demographic growth, settlement nucleation and agricultural intensification beginning around 2,000 years ago.
Phylogeny & subclades
E-P115 contains several large downstream lineages, some of which exhibit star-like phylogenetic signatures suggesting rapid expansions, while others retain more localized depth. The clade as a whole shows clear evidence of multi-directional demographic movement, with branches heading southwest into Gabon and coastal Central Africa, southward into Angola and Zambia, and eastward into the Great Lakes and northern Mozambique. The internal spacing of subclades indicates that E-P115 served as a genetic foundation for multiple waves of population expansion rather than a single large dispersal. Some derivative clusters show strong association with western Congo Basin settlement patterns, while others reflect the eastward and southeastward demographic pulses that reshaped the genetic landscape of eastern and southern Africa.
- E-P115* (basal, Gulf of Guinea and Cameroon Highlands)
- Western Congo Basin expansion branches
- Great Lakes-associated downstream lineages
- Angola–Zambia southern corridor clusters
- Mozambique–Tanzania eastern radiation branches
Notes & context
E-P115 is an indispensable lineage for understanding the demographic and linguistic transformations of sub-Saharan Africa over the last 2,000 years. Its extensive geographic footprint, significant internal complexity and strong alignment with archaeological and linguistic reconstructions make it central to any comprehensive study of African paternal history. While E-P115 is deeply intertwined with Bantu-speaking expansions, it should not be understood as exclusively tied to any single linguistic group; instead, it represents a multi-phase demographic engine that contributed to the genetic foundations of numerous societies across Central and Eastern Africa.
References & external links