Haplogroup C-M8


Haplogroup C-M8 also known as Haplogroup C1a1 is a Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is one of two branches of Haplogroup C1a, one of the descendants of Haplogroup C-M130. The other is C1a2.
It has been found in about 6% of modern males sampled in Japan and has been considered to be a Y-DNA haplogroup descended from Jōmon people. Elsewhere, it has been observed among academic studies only in one individual in a sample collected on Jeju Island of South Korea and in commercial testing in one individual who has reported an origin in Liaoning province of China and one individual who has reported an origin in Seoul, South Korea.
The MRCA with the closest sister haplogroup C-V20 dates back to 40,000 to 50,000 years ago and is common in Europe and the Middle East. As long as grasped by current research, diffusion of the existing subtypes of C-M8 is estimated to be about 12,000 years ago.

Frequency in Japan

Frequency in samples of Japanese from various regions:
Haplogroup C1a1 is mostly unique to the Japanese archipelago, and its migration route is enigmatic. The closest sister Haplogroup C-V20 is discovered in Paleolithic Europe, Neolithic Europe and small numbers of modern Europeans, North Africans, Armenians, and Nepalis.
:ja:崎谷満|Mitsuru Sakitani said that C1a1's ancestral type reached Japan over the Korean Peninsula via the Altai Mountains from Western Asia. Although its age of arrival is unknown, the spread of the existing subgroup is about 12,000 years ago, which is almost consistent with the start of the Jōmon period. That is, Haplogroup C1a1 may belong to the group that brought the Jōmon culture to Japan.
C1a1 is estimated to be one of the common haplogroups among the Jōmon people.