The Genetic Impact of the Lake Chad Basin Population in North Africa as Documented by Mitochondrial Diversity and Internal Variation of the L3e5 Haplogroup
2013
Abstract
In this article we show that human spread across the Sahara in Early Holocene through the analysis of the sub-Saharan mtDNA haplogroup L3e5, which is found in the Lake Chad Basin and Northwestern African populations. In fact, this clade occurs across linguistic boundaries with age estimates of ~10 ka.
The virtual absence of this lineage in the Daza people from Northern Chad, West African and East African populations suggests that its migration took place likely through Northern Niger. The Early Holocene contacts between North Africa and the Lake Chad Basin are documented by archaeological data from Central Niger, supporting suggestion of genetic exchanges between North and sub-Saharan Africa.