Female line information: mitogroup L3

All members of mitogroup L3 can trace their mitochondrial DNA to one woman who is thought to have lived about 80 thousand years ago, definitely in Africa. This woman belonged to a group of hunter-gatherers that were probably located in East Africa a few thousand years before modern humans colonized Asia and Europe. Interestingly, all of the mitogroups found outside Africa can also be traced to this ancient female ancestor. Thus, some of her descendants took part in the colonization of Asia and Europe, probably from East Africa about 60 thousand years ago, while others remained in Africa.

Today, mitogroup L3 is found in about 30 percent of sub-Saharan Africans, making it one of the two most common mitogroups in Africa. It is also found in North Africa and about 10% of the Middle Eastern population. About 30 percent of African Americans belong to mitogroup L3.

Due to the wide distribution of mitogroup L3 throughout Africa it is difficult to identify the geographic origins of the ancestors of members of this mitogroup from the United States or other countries in North or Central America. However, it is likely that most can trace their ancestry in the female line to West Africa.