About us
Approximately 1.6 to 5.3 million YBP (years before present) a hominid species, Australopithecus walked upright in Africa. "Lucy" is the most famous of these known to us. Somewhere in Sub Saharan Africa, she and others of her kind were antecedents to the first Homo species, Homo Habilis. 250,000 to 1.6 million years ago on the dark continent, Homo Erectus discovers fire and finds his way out of Africa to Europe and Asia. Around 400,000 YBP in Africa, Homo Sapiens, the ancestor of modern man walks onto the stage of humanity and history is forever changed.
"Despite the presence of H. erectus outside of Africa, the archaelogical and genetic data concur that H. sapiens only arose in Africa". 1
It is circa 200,000 years ago in East Africa that "Mitochondrial Eve" is born, lives, struggles and survives all adversity, becoming the genetic ancestral mother of us all. Remarkably, from only this one maternal survivor, her female descendants known as Haplogroups L1, L2 and L3, bearing their own signature mutations, spread and populate a continent, concentrating in specific areas. It is through L3, the "Out of Africa Eve" and her own descendants bearing their signature mutations, that expansion occurs and the rest of the world is populated.
Temne, Mende, Kisi, Goree, Kru. WINDWARD COAST (including Liberia): Baoule, Vai, De, Gola (Gullah), Bassa, Grebo GOLD COAST: Ewe, Ga, Fante, Ashante, Twi, Brong BIGHT OF BENIN & BIGHT OF BIAFRA combined:
Yoruba, Nupe, Benin, Dahomean (Fon), Edo-Bini, Allada, Efik, Lbibio, Ljaw, Lbani, Lgbo (Calabar) CENTRAL & SOUTHEAST AFRICA: BaKongo, MaLimbo, Ndungo, BaMbo, BaLimbe, BaDongo, Luba, Loanga, Ovimbundu, Cabinda, Pembe, Imbangala, Mbundu, BaNdulunda Other possible "Ancestral Groups": Fulani, Tuareg, Dialonke, Massina, Dogon, Songhay, Jekri, Jukun, Domaa, Tallensi, Mossi, Nzima, Akwamu, Egba, Fang, and Ge.
Similarly, but at a period of approximately 60,000 YBP, another survivor, yDNA Adam becomes the paternal ancestor of all men. Like his counterpart Haplogroup L3, his descendant Eurasian Adam or M168, ventures out of Africa and the rest is history.
SENEGAMBIA: Wolof, Mandingo, Malinke, Bambara, Papel, Limba, Bola, Balante, Serer, Fula, Tucolor SIERRA LEONE:Temne, Mende, Kisi, Goree, Kru. WINDWARD COAST (including Liberia): Baoule, Vai, De, Gola (Gullah), Bassa, Grebo GOLD COAST: Ewe, Ga, Fante, Ashante, Twi, Brong BIGHT OF BENIN & BIGHT OF BIAFRA combined:
Yoruba, Nupe, Benin, Dahomean (Fon), Edo-Bini, Allada, Efik, Lbibio, Ljaw, Lbani, Lgbo (Calabar) CENTRAL & SOUTHEAST AFRICA: BaKongo, MaLimbo, Ndungo, BaMbo, BaLimbe, BaDongo, Luba, Loanga, Ovimbundu, Cabinda, Pembe, Imbangala, Mbundu, BaNdulunda Other possible "Ancestral Groups": Fulani, Tuareg, Dialonke, Massina, Dogon, Songhay, Jekri, Jukun, Domaa, Tallensi, Mossi, Nzima, Akwamu, Egba, Fang, and Ge.
A special comment on the island of Madagascar and the Virginia, USA region:
From the period 1719 through 1721, 1200+ slaves arrived from St. Mary's Island in Madagascar to the Virginia, USA area. (See Virginia Platt [William and Mary Journal, 1969] and David Eltis et al [The Slave Trade Database]. These Malagasy slaves are listed in the accounts of John Baylor of Williamsburg and the data is freely accessible at the University of Virginia library. With the passage of time, free Malagasy immigrants who were generally sailors or individuals connected to the missionary societies of the period, also arrived to this region. Should your most distant ancestor be from the Virginia area and surroundings, it may be an invaluable resource to consider.
[The above information re Madacasgacar provided courtesy of Dr. Wendy Wilson Fall, PHD, Africanist, Pan African Studies, Kent State University]
Our project has its own domain and website, The African DNA Project and it is is now live. Please, visit us.
The collection of a DNA sample may sound like a rather daunting process - however it is a very simple and painless procedure which is excellently explained by Dave Dorsey's step by step photographic guide to the whole process. The link will open a new window. Close it to return to this site. DNA Collection Method See the new DNA HaploBracelets at DNAHaploGear . A contribution from the sale of any bracelet purchased by any African DNA Project member will be made to the African DNA Project Donation fund.
From the period 1719 through 1721, 1200+ slaves arrived from St. Mary's Island in Madagascar to the Virginia, USA area. (See Virginia Platt [William and Mary Journal, 1969] and David Eltis et al [The Slave Trade Database]. These Malagasy slaves are listed in the accounts of John Baylor of Williamsburg and the data is freely accessible at the University of Virginia library. With the passage of time, free Malagasy immigrants who were generally sailors or individuals connected to the missionary societies of the period, also arrived to this region. Should your most distant ancestor be from the Virginia area and surroundings, it may be an invaluable resource to consider.
[The above information re Madacasgacar provided courtesy of Dr. Wendy Wilson Fall, PHD, Africanist, Pan African Studies, Kent State University]
Ours will be a diverse group of individuals both culturally and historically. Although most of our African ancestors had no choice in leaving their birthplace and homeland, theirs is a heritage which is rich and diverse and lives on in us. Though we cannot put a face, name or even a year to when our African ancestors walked this earth, we can and have come together as a group to attmpt to trace the origins of our own DNA to mother Africa. However, please note that it is as yet NOT possible to say definitively to which specific tribe one may belong to with just HVR1 and HVR2 alone due to the extensive migratory practices of the different tribes in Africa, and specifically the well known Bantu migrations. A high frequency of a particular Haplogroup L mtDNA may suggest origin but the true origin may actually be elsewhere on the African continent.
Some of us may speak English, French, Spanish or even other languages. Some of us may have African ancestors in only our paternal or maternal lines, others in both. We are of all colors. Whether we come from Africa, North America, South America, the Caribbean, Canada, the United Kingdom, France or any other place where the African children of Mitochondrial Eve and yAdam have spread, we know we share a common bond ....... for ours are the most ancient genetic lines of all.
If you do not wish to participate as an African DNA Project member but wish to donate to the project fund so that we may help others complete their yDNA sequences or mtDNA, please, click on the donation button on the menu on the left side of this page or click here. Every penny counts. The administrators of this project all volunteer their time. They receive no remuneration from this project. We thank you for your support. You will be donating to a wonderful cause.
Our project has its own domain and website, The African DNA Project and it is is now live. Please, visit us.
The collection of a DNA sample may sound like a rather daunting process - however it is a very simple and painless procedure which is excellently explained by Dave Dorsey's step by step photographic guide to the whole process. The link will open a new window. Close it to return to this site. DNA Collection Method See the new DNA HaploBracelets at DNAHaploGear . A contribution from the sale of any bracelet purchased by any African DNA Project member will be made to the African DNA Project Donation fund.