Overview
E-P252 is a key sub-branch of E-M191 and represents one of the earliest clearly structured lineages within this major West and Central African paternal cluster. Emerging during a period of intensifying agricultural practices and growing settlement permanence in the Cross River, Niger Delta and Cameroon borderlands, E-P252 exhibits phylogenetic features strongly associated with early demographic stratification in the western part of the Congo Basin. While it does not represent the most numerically dominant lineage within E-M191, its internal architecture reveals a sophisticated mosaic of regionally anchored lineages that contribute substantially to the genetic background of multiple Niger–Congo and Bantoid-speaking communities. E-P252 shows a notable balance between localized depth in its core region and a series of mid-range expansions that carried some of its subclades into interior Central Africa during the early stages of the Bantu-speaking movements. It forms a crucial intermediate layer between ancestral West Central African populations and later continental-scale dispersals.
Geographic distribution
The highest concentration of E-P252 occurs in southeastern Nigeria, southwestern Cameroon, the Cross River basin and the forest–savanna transition zone stretching toward the Cameroon Highlands. Additional frequencies are observed throughout Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the western Congo Basin, typically reflecting early population interactions preceding large-scale Bantu expansions. In several communities of the Great Lakes region, small but recurring E-P252 sub-branches appear alongside other E-M191 lineages, hinting at the complex interplay between migrating agriculturalists and preexisting groups in the region. The lineage is present at modest levels in Angola, the DRC, Zambia and Tanzania, often reflecting movements along forested corridors and riverine networks. Among African-descended populations in the Americas, E-P252 appears at lower frequencies compared to larger E-M191 derivatives, but its presence is fully consistent with its historical distribution in West and Central Africa.
Ancient DNA
- Ancient DNA directly attributed to E-P252 is not yet available, but phylogenetic age and branching patterns align with the archaeological record of mid-Holocene settlement systems across the Cross River and Cameroon borderlands.
- The time depth of E-P252 closely corresponds to the formation of the earliest recognizable Bantoid-speaking cultural clusters, which acted as ancestral precursors to later Bantu expansions.
- Internal phylogenetic structuring suggests that E-P252 participated in several regionally bounded demographic processes long before wider population movements integrated its downstream lineages into broader sub-Saharan networks.
Phylogeny & subclades
E-P252 contains a moderate number of downstream branches that collectively form a well-defined structural unit within the E-M191 complex. Several basal subclades remain concentrated in the western Gulf of Guinea region, reflecting localized continuity. Additional branches show affinities with the early demographic pathways extending into Gabon, northern Congo and, later, the central Congo Basin. The distribution of branch lengths and divergence times suggests a lineage that experienced steady, multi-phase growth rather than a single explosive expansion. This makes E-P252 particularly valuable for reconstructing mid-range demographic history in regions where archaeological evidence points to long-term population continuity punctuated by episodic movement and exchange.
- E-P252* (basal, localized in SE Nigeria–SW Cameroon)
- Cameroon Highland and Grassfields-associated sub-branches
- Western Congo Basin derivative clusters
- Gabon–Equatorial Guinea regional micro-lineages
Notes & context
Although not among the most widely distributed E-M191 derivatives, E-P252 offers some of the clearest genetic insight into the early phases of Niger–Congo demographic development. Its balanced pattern of localized depth and mid-distance dispersal provides a rare window into cultural and population structures that predate major Bantu expansions. For any large-scale Y-DNA atlas, E-P252 is essential: it anchors key phylogenetic relationships within E-M191 and clarifies how demographic layers accumulated across the Gulf of Guinea and western Congo Basin before later, more explosive radiations reshaped the genetic map of sub-Saharan Africa.
References & external links