Male line information: Y-group C

All members of Y-group C can trace their Y-chromosomes back to one man who is thought to have lived about 60 thousand years ago, probably somewhere in Asia. This man belonged to a group of hunter-gatherers, whose ancestors had recently migrated from Africa to Asia. Most members of Y-group C trace their recent ancestry through the male line to Asia or Oceania. Members of Y-group C took part in the first human colonization of the Americas about 14 thousand years ago.

Today, members of Y-group C can be found throughout Central, South and East Asia, in Oceania and among Native Americans, where they account for 15 to 80 percent of all males. Members of Y-group C are particularly common among the peoples of Northeast Asia, Polynesia and among aboriginal Australians.

The worldwide geographical distribution of Y-group C members is consistent with early human migrations from Africa following a coastal route via Southwest Asia to insular Southeast Asia and Oceania. The presence of Y-group C in Siberia and Native Americans is likely to be due to a later northward migration. Interestingly, members of Y-group C are also found at low frequency in eastern and central Europe, possibly a result of the westward expansion of Huns or the Mongols during the early middle ages.