Male line information: Y-group L

All members of Y-group L can trace their Y-chromosomes back to one man, who is thought to have lived about 30 thousand years ago, probably in Asia. This man belonged to a group of hunter-gatherers, who were recent descendants of the first modern humans to migrate from Africa to Eurasia and may initially have made their home in Southwest Asia. While it was first thought that the male line ancestor of Y-group L was from South India, there is now evidence to suggest that Northwest Pakistan is a more likely location. Either way, males belonging to Y-group L took part in the early settlement of both India and Pakistan.

Today, members of Y-group L are primarily found in India (in about 7 to 15 percent of males) and Pakistan (in about 28 percent of males) and in lower frequencies among populations of Central Asia, Southwest Asia and Southern Europe. In India, members of Y-group L seem to be most frequent (19 percent) in the higher castes, but rarer in the countries tribal populations.