Haplogroup W (mtDNA)

Haplogroup W is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup.
Origin.
Haplogroup W is believed to have originated around 23,900 years ago in Western Asia. It is descended from the haplogroup N2.
Distribution.
Haplogroup W is found in Europe, Western Asia, and South Asia. It is widely distributed at low frequencies, with a high concentration in Northern Pakistan. Haplogroup W is also found in the Maghreb among Algerians (1.08%-3.23%) and in Siberia among Yakuts (6/423 = 1.42%).
Additionally, the clade has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
The W5 subclade has been found in a fossil associated with the Starčevo culture (Lánycsók site; 1/1 or 100%).
Ancient DNA analysis found that the medieval individual Sungir 6 (730-850 cal BP) belonged to the W3a1 subclade.
Subclades.
Tree.
This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup W subclades is based on the paper by Mannis van Oven and Manfred Kayser "Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation" and subsequent published research.