The following article was written for the Dunham-Singletary Family Connections newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 3, July 15, 2008 in an attempt to identify the several haplogroups to which some of the different Dunham families belong.
The genographic project that launched in 2005 has produced enormous results to date, but the amount of knowledge that we have gained so far is still small in relation to what will be learned as this study continues. In 2005 National Geographic Society, IBM, geneticist Spencer Wells, and the Waitt Family Foundation formed a partnership to analyze the DNA samples as they relate to human migration patterns. The Genographic Project’s goal is to assemble a comprehensive database of human genetic variation.
All humans descend from a common African ancestor 60,000 years ago. Today the knowledge of the human genome, the ability to sequence DNA, and the study of DNA from samples gathered world wide show the story of the human migrations from Africa to the rest of the world. Studies show that humans settled the world in stepping stone fashion after leaving Africa. As each small group of people moved further away to settle a new region, that group took only a sample of the parent population’s genetic diversity. Thus, less variation appears in samples the further groups went from Africa.
A particular pattern of genetic markers can tell us about one haplogroup’s relationship to other haplogroups. A haplogroup is an ancestral clan--the descendants of one man who had a particular set of genetic markers on his Y chromosome. Identifying haplogroups involve a string of letters which broadly define affiliation to a group, with numbers and other letters which define subgroups within the broad group.
Mapping of the world’s haplogroups, and thus the migration patterns, has been done and can be viewed at various web sites.
If we refer to the DNA test results on Paul Dunham’s web site for the Dunham-Singletary Family Connections, we see that the Dunhams tested so far belong to three main haplogroups: R, I, and G. We can then follow the breakdown of individuals who belong (for instance) to R1b, or to I1a. The migration routes of these subgroups follows.
However, these are two separate Dunham lines
Haplogroup I--This clan (defined by marker M89) was part of the Middle Eastern group that continued to migrate more directly northwest into the Balkans and spread into central Europe. This clan may have brought the Gravettian culture to western Europe about 21,000 to 28,000 years ago. Gravettian culture (named after a site in La Gravette, France) represented a new technological and artictic phase in western Europe. Archaeologists have discovered tools that differ from those of the preceding era. These stone tools had a distinctive pointed blade used for hunting big game. Gravettian culture is also known for figure carving, creation of shell jewelry, and they may even have discovered how to weave cloth using natural plant fibers as early as 25,000 years ago.
The I1a and I1b subgroup are major lineages. I1a appears with highest frequency in Scandinavia and appears with lower frequency throughout the Atlantic fringe of Europe. I1b is found more frequently in the Balkans and is common in central and eastern Europe. The most recent common ancestor (defined by marker M170) was born about 25,000 years ago.
As the ice sheets began to retreat, a distinctive gene marker (M253) appeared on one of the males of the I1a subgroup. His descendants moved north from the Iberian Peninsula and likely played a central part in colonizing central and northern Europe. Because of the high frequency of this marker in western Scandinavia, it is likely that many Vikings descended from this line. Viking raids into the British Isles may account for the high prevalence of the subgroup I1a there.
Haplogroup Ilb subgroup is further defined by a marker known as P37.2 which appeared in the Balkan people about 15,000 years ago. Members of this group spread northward and eastward into Europe. This marker’s presence in central and eastern Europe is prevalent there today.
Haplogroup I1c subgroup is defined by marker M223 which occurred with a genetic mutation in a man living in southern France around 14,000 to 18,000 years ago. Members of this group were hunters who used teamwork to hunt large game. This subgroup is most common in Germany.
Haplogroup R--This clan spent considerable time in central Asia and then a group began to head west toward the European subcontinent. A man in this group carried the M207 mutation on his Y chromosome. His descendants split into two distinct groups, one continuing westward onto the European subcontinent, the other going south to the Indian subcontinent.
The R1 subgroup--(defined by marker M173) arrived in Europe around 35,000 years ago. Their journey was shaped by the preponderance of ice that occurred around 20,000 years ago when they were forced to southern Spain, Italy, and the Balkans. Then years later when the ice retreated, they moved northward and left a concentrated trail of the M173 marker in their wake. This marker’s frequency remains very high in Spain and the British Isles.
The R1b subgroup--(defined by marker M343) developed around 30,000 years ago and is now found at a very high frequency in western Europe. In some populations, for instance the Irish, nearly every man is carrying marker M343. This frequency drops as we move eastward in Europe and tests of men near Poland and Hungary show it in only about one third of the men. The R1b subgroup were the Cro-Magnon who are responsible for the famous cave paintings located in southern France.
Haplogroup G--This clan (defined by marker M201) arose around 30,000 years ago along the eastern edge of the Middle East, possibly near the Himalayan foothills. Members of this clan are relatively few in comparison with Haplogroup R or I. DNA studies now show that despite living at high altitudes, individuals from haplogroups G were able to survive by learning to farm and by adopting the Neolithic culture. Their spread westward through modern Turkey and into southeastern Europe was at least partially due to the expansion of agriculture.
Reference for the haplogroups information is from: Wells, Spencer, Deep Ancestry, Inside the Genographic Project, (Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2007)
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