Afghan Pashtun Mt-DNA W3a1a

[Mellifluous]

Hey guys!

I got my results back. They're posted in one of the thread in the autosomal section. Anyway, I have an mt-dna that is found infrequently: W3a1 or W3a1a. I calculated my mt-dna using the calculator from this website: http://dna.jameslick.com

1) W3a1

Defining Markers for haplogroup W3a1:
HVR2: 73G 189G 194T 195C 204C 207A 263G
CR: 709A 750G 1243C 1406C 1438G 2706G 3505G 4769G 5046A 5460A 7028T 8251A 8860G 8994A 11674T 11719A 11947G 12414C 12705T 13263G 14766T 15326G 15784C 15884C
HVR1: 16223T 16292T

Marker path from rCRS to haplogroup W3a1 (plus extra markers):
H2a2a1(rCRS) ⇨ 263G ⇨ H2a2a ⇨ 8860G 15326G ⇨ H2a2 ⇨ 750G ⇨ H2a ⇨ 4769G ⇨ H2 ⇨ 1438G ⇨ H ⇨ 2706G 7028T ⇨ HV ⇨ 14766T ⇨ R0 ⇨ 73G 11719A ⇨ R ⇨ 12705T 16223T ⇨ N ⇨ 189G 709A 5046A 11674T 12414C ⇨ N2 ⇨ 195C 204C 207A 1243C 3505G 5460A 8251A 8994A 11947G 15884C 16292T ⇨ W ⇨ 194T ⇨ W(C194T) ⇨ 1406C ⇨ W3 ⇨ 15784C ⇨ W3a ⇨ 13263G ⇨ W3a1 ⇨ 9090C 16311C (16519C)

Imperfect Match. Your results contained differences with this haplogroup:
Matches(29): 73G 189G 194T 204C 263G 709A 750G 1406C 1438G 2706G 3505G 4769G 5046A 5460A 7028T 8251A 8860G 8994A 11674T 11719A 11947G 12414C 12705T 13263G 14766T 15784C 15884C 16223T 16292T
Extras(2): 9090C 16311C (16519C)
No-Calls(1): 195C
Untested(3): 207 1243 15326


2) W3a1a

Defining Markers for haplogroup W3a1a:
HVR2: 73G 189G 194T 195C 204C 207A 263G
CR: 709A 750G 1243C 1406C 1438G 2706G 3505G 4769G 5046A 5460A 7028T 7151T 8251A 8860G 8994A 11674T 11719A 11947G 12414C 12705T 13263G 14766T 15326G 15784C 15884C
HVR1: 16223T 16292T

Marker path from rCRS to haplogroup W3a1a (plus extra markers):
H2a2a1(rCRS) ⇨ 263G ⇨ H2a2a ⇨ 8860G 15326G ⇨ H2a2 ⇨ 750G ⇨ H2a ⇨ 4769G ⇨ H2 ⇨ 1438G ⇨ H ⇨ 2706G 7028T ⇨ HV ⇨ 14766T ⇨ R0 ⇨ 73G 11719A ⇨ R ⇨ 12705T 16223T ⇨ N ⇨ 189G 709A 5046A 11674T 12414C ⇨ N2 ⇨ 195C 204C 207A 1243C 3505G 5460A 8251A 8994A 11947G 15884C 16292T ⇨ W ⇨ 194T ⇨ W(C194T) ⇨ 1406C ⇨ W3 ⇨ 15784C ⇨ W3a ⇨ 13263G ⇨ W3a1 ⇨ 7151T ⇨ W3a1a ⇨ 9090C 16311C (16519C)

Imperfect Match. Your results contained differences with this haplogroup:
Matches(29): 73G 189G 194T 204C 263G 709A 750G 1406C 1438G 2706G 3505G 4769G 5046A 5460A 7028T 8251A 8860G 8994A 11674T 11719A 11947G 12414C 12705T 13263G 14766T 15784C 15884C 16223T 16292T
Extras(2): 9090C 16311C (16519C)
No-Calls(1): 195C
Untested(4): 207 1243 7151 15326

[Mina]

Ftdna classified me as W3a1, but the admins of the W haplogroup project (on Ftdna) put me in a new suggested subclade: W3a1+G1709A/C10845T

I have 3 identical matches on the full Mtdna sequence: (based on their names) one from Poland, one from Germany and one from Libya(!). I've only been able to contact the Libyan match, who, interestingly, told me that his maternal grandmother was semi-blonde and had lighter eyes than the rest of the family or the typical Libyan type. She was possibly adopted.

The project admins recently sent me this update:

We have earlier placed you in the W3a1+G1709A/C10845T suggested subclade, which differs from FTDNAs designation.
W is defined by T195C! T204C G207A T1243C A3505G G5460A G8251A G8994A A11914G G15884c C16292T.
W3 is defined by C194T & T1406C.
W3a is defined by T15784C.
W3a1 is defined by A13263G.
W3a1+G1709A/C10845T is defined by G1709A & C10845T.
You have no private mutations.
W3a1 has a huge spread from Ireland to Laos, indicating that it has an ancient origin, maybe as far back as Stone Age.
There has recently been a new exciting discovery related to your particular subbranch of W3a1.
“Juras et al 2017” describes a W3a1 Iron Age about 10-11 year old child SCY196 from Glinoe in southern Moldova not far from Odessa in current Ukraine, dated 400-100 BC belonging to the Scythian nomads. This individual belongs to the suggested subclade W3a1+G1709A/C10845T, which you belong to, as well as a sample with Pashtun origin in Pakistan (genbank sample KF450952/KJ445931/HGDP00243) and one from Turkey (genbank sample JQ245760). In the same time period as or slightly later than the Moldovian sample lived, there was an incursion of Indo-Scythian warrior nomad tribes into the now Pashtun areas of Pakistan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Scythians), so this is a plausible connection between you and the Pashtun sample. The Scythian child has additional private mutations that you do not share, so he is not a very close relative to any of your matrilineal ancestors, but it is still interesting to know this connection.
You can read more about your distant Scythian relatives in Nature (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep43950) and Journal of Anthropological Research (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/694576). I am sorry, but there is a pay wall for the last paper.

In terms of prehistory, there exists a number of ancient skeletons that have been analysed which belong to the W3a1 subclade:
“Haak et al 2015” describes a Late Neolithic W3a1a male SVP57 from the Lopatino II at the Sok river in Samara in Russia, dated to 3300-2700 BC belonging to the Yamnaya culture. This male has the additional private mutation A15951G that is one of several marker mutations for a subbranch under W3a1a1. The Yamnaya herding culture of the Russian steppes are believed to have brought Indo-European language and culture to Europe during the Copper Stone Age or early Bronze Age.
“Olalde et al 2018” describes a Chalcolithic (Copper Age) W3a1 male I3607 from Bruck in Künzing in Bavaria in Germany, dated to 2350-2250 BC belonging to the Bell Beaker culture. This male has the additional private mutation C16294T that is not found in any current W3a1 kits. The Bell Beaker culture is associated with metalwork in copper, gold and later bronze. This male was buried with a decorated handled Bell Beaker behind the head and two flint arrow-heads. Traces of copper and gold metalwork has been found in a nearby grave.
“Haak et al 2015” also describes an Early Bronze Age W3a1 male ESP4 from Esperstedt in Germany, dated to 2134-1939 BC belonging to the Unetice culture that confirms the link to metalworking cultures. This male has four additional private mutations C5211T, G6267A, T14025C & C16147G of which the first three mutations are found in two current kits in a subbranch of W3a1c.
“Mathieson et al 2018” describes a Bronze Age W3a1 female I4332 from Veliki Vanik near Vrgorac along the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, dated to 1730-1530 BC. She was found in a grave mound together with hair ornament made of coiled copper wire and fragments of pottery. This individual has no additional private mutations.
“Brandt et al 2013” also lists two separate finds from the Unetice culture from two graves at Quedlinburg in Germany, that are classified by the authors as W3a1, but we do not have access to the full sequences, so we cannot decide if they belong to a subbranch or not.

More generally, from ancient autosomal DNA as well as the respective ancient mtDNA, we know that Europe experienced at least two population turnovers:
The Neolithic farming migration probably brought W lineages into Europe for the first time. We know some of these were W1 with T119C. The oldest known W1+T119C ancient individual analysed is over 8.000 years old from Barcin in Turkey. W5 appears to have arrived in the Neolithic of Europe as well.
The second population turnover brought the Ancient North Eurasian component into Europe and India during the Copper and Bronze Ages. This event seems to have brought a number of W branches - W3 and W6 into Europe and India from the Central Asian Steppes. This Ancestral North Eurasian component seems to be associated with the people thought to have brought the Indo-European languages into Europe called Yamnaya. We see a similar flow eastwards towards Iran & India in most of the subgroups of W, and even as far as Thailand & Laos in W3a1b.