Saami Blog





I stumbled upon a this blog last evening while looking for articles that were U4 specific. Its focused on the Saami but has a wealth of knowledge on Northern European people and quite a few U4 links as well.

 

http://saamiblog.blogspot.com/2007_08_05_archive.html

Complex Signals for Population Expansions in Europe and Beyond

Complex Signals for Population Expansions in Europe and Beyond
http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Tambets2003.
Kristiiana Tambets et al. 2003
From the article:

"Case study: U4U4 is even more 'European' than U5: while U5 is relatively frequent all over western Eurasia, U4 is, with a few interesting exceptions, more frequent in eastern Europe and is either absent or very rare in the Near East and elsewhere. In the European north, an interesting exception is the Saami mtDNA pool, where U4 is virtually absent. We have constructed a HVRl-based phylogenetic tree for U4, using information from ~80 populations comprising a total of ~400 U4 genomes (Fig. 35.2). The topology of the U4 cluster is relatively simple, revealing the presence of a limited number of sub-founders. Of these, U4a and U4b are likely monophyletic, while U4c, determined by a transition at np 16,362, might be polyphyletic, at least in a pan-western Eurasian context. The highest frequencies of U4 (both in absolute terms and as a percentage of Hg U) can be observed actually not in Europe, but among Obi-Ugric Khantys and Mansis, living in northwestern Siberia. It is also frequent among the Finnic-speaking populations and in Volga Basin Turkic speakers, where, in some instances, its frequency exceeds that of U5.In spite of this, we have not found any U4b mtDNA genomes among Finno-Ugric and Volga region people (N > 1000). This sub-cluster is largely, though not solely, typical for Germanic-speaking populations, being yet another highly characteristic example of a steep cline in the distribution of maternal lineages in Europe. The coalescence age of U4 is around 16,000-24,000 BP (Richards et al. 2000). With geographically more representative data at hand, it is interesting to estimate coalescence ages not only for each sub-division of U4 (i.e. U4*, U4a and U4b), but also for different linguistic/geographic entities within a sub-cluster. We found the answers intriguing. For the Baltic Finno-Ugric and Volga people (note that Hungarians differ here from the Finnic-speaking people), the coalescence ages both for U4* and U4a are around the maximum of the LGM, at 20,000-22,000 BP. furthermore, taking U4c tentatively as monophyletic for this particular region, the corresponding sub-clade lineages in the FU-Volga area coalesce at about 19,000 BP — coinciding within the limits of error with U4* and U4a. Postulating the beginning of expansion during the LGM seems strongly counter-intuitive at first glance. Here, however, comes an equally unexpected archaeological finding (Dolukhanov 2000), that actual population density (calculated from the number of precisely dated settlements) rose considerably after about 25,000 BP in a periglacial area of northern Ukraine-southern Russia, reaching its maximum around the peak of the LGM. It is of course highly speculative, but nevertheless tempting to bring these two completely independent findings together and to suggest that the eastern 'Periglacial refugium' postulated by archaeological data, and beginning of theexpansion of U4 among eastern Europeans, can be attributed to the same prehistoric people. Next, we calculated coalescence ages of U4*, U4a and U4b for the Germanic speaking people (Germans, Norwegians, Swedes, Icelanders, Scots, German-speaking Swiss). Here the other interesting observation came. As indicated above, they share U4* and U4a with FU-Volga people, whereas the latter lack U4b. Nevertheless, the coalescence ages for all three indicated clades/sub-clades for the Germanic-speaking people are close and lie around 10,000-14,000 BP, suggesting that the beginning of their expansion was:a ) in the late Pleistocene, corresponding to the period of fast regression of continental ice cover in northern Europe and the general 'improvement' of climate;b ) much later (for U4* and U4a) than for people living in the adjacent geographic area of northeastern Europe.One may ask about U4 in Mediterranean Europe. While U4a is so rare there that no meaningful calculation can be performed, the coalescence age for U4* for the Mediterranean isagain about 13,000 BP. Notice that this time scale (late Pleistocene) overlaps with that which one observes for the majority of the nicely star-like sub-clades of U5, discussedabove. There is, of course, a profound difference between the spreads of U4 and U5 in western Eurasia. U5 is one of the major pan-western Eurasian maternal lineage clades, present in northwestern Africa, in the Near and Middle East and in Central Asia, while U4 is largely a northeastern-central European variety of mtDNA, found also in western Siberia/Altai and, in low frequencies, in Mediterranean Europe and the Near East. Interestingly, we have found a few U4 lineages even in India (see Kivisild et al. this volume).

Differentiation of the Mitochondrial Subhaplogroup U4 in the Populations of Eastern Europe, Ural, and Western Siberia

I could only access the Abstract of this one, and a little more at the link. Good reading though..


Differentiation of the Mitochondrial Subhaplogroup U4 in the Populations of Eastern Europe, Ural, and Western Siberia: Implication to the Genetic History of the Uralic Populations

Abstract

B. A. Malyarchuk1
(1)
Institute of the Biological Problems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, 685000, Russia
Abstract Phylogenetic relationships between the sequences of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable segment 1, belonging to subhaplogroup U4, were examined in the populations of Eastern Europe, Ural, and Northwest Siberia. It was shown that the frequency of subhaplogroup U4, as well as its proportion in the U-component of the gene pools, increased eastwards, reaching maximum values in the populations of Northwest Siberia. Phylogenetic analysis it was showed that the appearance of specific U4-lineage (16113C–16356–16362) in the ancestors of Mansi was most likely caused by its divergence from the East European cluster 16356–16362 in the Late Upper Paleolithic (18566 ± 12915 years before present). Other U4 mtDNA lineages (16189–16356 and 16311–16356), typical mostly of the indigenous populations of Northwest Siberia (Mansi, Nganasans, and Kets) may have formed during the Neolithic–early Bronze Age (6055 ± 3599 years before present, on average). It seems likely that the isolation of ancient populations inhabiting the region between the Ob'' and Yenisei rivers was the key factor, providing the appearance of the unique Caucasoid mtDNA lineages in their gene pools. These results were consistent with the traditional point of view on the mixed origin of the Finno-Ugric populations of the Volga–Ural region and West Siberia, resulted from the genetic relationships between the populations of Europe and Asia.

Link

http://www.springerlink.com/content/h1040135qj6r8951/

The Mansi - History and Present Day

Here is a great web site on the Mansi people of Western Siberia. Many Mansi carry the U4 Haplogroup.


The Mansi - History and Present Day
Aado Lintrop, Institute of the Estonian Language

Ugria (Yugra or Yura) is mentioned already in the works of old Arabian authors. The missionary and traveller Al Garnati writes: "But beyond Visu by the Sea of Darkness there lies a land known by the name of Yura. In summers the days are very long there, so that the Sun does not set for forty days, as the merchants say; but in winters the nights are equally long. The merchants report that Darkness is not far (from them), and that the people of Yura go there and enter it with torches, and find a huge tree there which is like a big village. But on top of the tree there sits a large creature, they say it is a bird. And they bring merchandise along, and each merchant sets down his goods apart from those of the others; and he makes a mark on them and leaves, but when he comes back, he finds commodities there, necessary for his own country…" (Al Garnati:32). If the country called Visu has been identified with ancient Vepsaland (due to linguistic affinity with the Russian word for Vepsans, 'ves') or with Perm (due to geographical vicinity with Yugra), Yugra itself has been unanimously associated with the Ob-Ugrians - the Khanty and the Mansi. In the giant tree mentioned by Al Garnati we can recognise the World Tree, familiar from the mythologies of various North-European peoples. Some authors have also related the following report of Al Garnati's to the Ugrians: "And from Bulgar merchants travel to the land of heathens, called Visu; marvellous beaver skins come from there, and they take there wedge-shaped unpolished swords made in Aserbaijan in their turn… But the inhabitants of Visu take these swords to the land that lies near the Darkness by the Black Sea, and they trade the swords for sable skins. And these people take the swords and cast them into the Black Sea; but Allah the Almighty sends them a fish which size is like a mountain; and they sail out to the fish in their ships and carve its flesh for months on end." (ibid:58-59). Nevertheless, it ought to be clear that the vicinity of the Darkness and the Black Sea (the polar regions and the Arctic Ocean) is not characteristic of Ugria alone, and that the last report regards peoples who derived a substantial part of their livelihood from whaling.


Traces of Early Eurasians in the Mansi of Northwest Siberia Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Analysis


Traces of Early Eurasians in the Mansi of Northwest Siberia Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Analysis


Traces of Early Eurasians in the Mansi of Northwest Siberia Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Analysis
Olga A. Derbeneva,1 Elena B. Starikovskaya,1 Douglas C. Wallace,2 and Rem I. Sukernik1
1Laboratory of Human Molecular Genetics, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia; and, 2Center for Molecular Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta
Address for correspondence and reprints: Dr. Rem I. Sukernik, Laboratory of Human Molecular Genetics, Institute of Cytology and Genetics, 10 Lavrent’ev Avenue, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia. E-mail:sukernik@bionet.nsc.ru

Abstract

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 98 Mansi, an ancient group (formerly known as “Vogul”) of Uralic-speaking fishers and hunters on the eastern slope of the northern Ural Mountains, were analyzed for sequence variants by restriction fragment–length polymorphism analysis, control-region sequencing, and sequencing of additional informative sites in the coding region. Although 63.3% of the mtDNA detected in the Mansi falls into western Eurasian lineages (e.g., haplogroups UK, TJ, and HV), the remaining 36.7% encompass a subset of eastern Eurasian lineages (e.g., haplogroups A, C, D, F, G, and M). Among the western Eurasian lineages, subhaplogroup U4 was found at a remarkable frequency of 16.3%, along with lineages U5, U7, and J2. This suggests that the aboriginal populations residing immediately to the east of the Ural Mountains may encompass remnants of the early Upper Paleolithic expansion from the Middle East/southeastern Europe. The added presence of eastern Eurasian mtDNA lineages in the Mansi introduces the possibilities that proto-Eurasians encompassed a range of macrohaplogroup M and N lineages that subsequently became geographically distributed and that the Paleolithic expansion may have reached this part of Siberia before it split into western and eastern human groups.

Link

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=379094

North American white mitochondrial haplogroups in prostate and renal cancer.



North American white mitochondrial haplogroups in prostate and renal cancer.

Booker LM, Habermacher GM, Jessie BC, Sun QC, Baumann AK, Amin M, Lim SD, Fernandez-Golarz C, Lyles RH, Brown MD, Marshall FF, Petros JA.
Department of Urology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.


PURPOSE: While the mitochondrion is known to be a key mediator of apoptosis, there has been little inquiry into the inheritance pattern of mitochondria in patients with cancer. We compared the mtDNA haplotype in patients with prostate and renal cancer to that in controls to determine if there is an association between mitochondrial genotype and cancer. MATERIALS AND

METHODS: Haplotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction/digest identification of key polymorphic sites in the mitochondrial genome. A total of 121 and 221 white men with renal and prostate cancer, respectively, were identified following pathological confirmation of cancer, while 246 white controls were selected randomly from a bank of cadaveric organ donor DNA. Statistical analysis was performed and ORs were calculated.

RESULTS: Mitochondrial haplogroup U was a highly significant risk factor for prostate and renal cancer vs controls (16.74% and 20.66% vs 9.35%, Fisher's exact test p = 0.019 and 0.005, respectively). The association remained statistically significant in renal cancer even after Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons. Haplogroup U carried an OR of 1.95 for prostate cancer and an OR of 2.52 for renal cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The inheritance of mitochondrial haplogroup U is associated with an approximately 2-fold increased risk of prostate cancer and 2.5-fold increased risk of renal cancer in white North American individuals. Therefore, individuals with this mitochondrial haplotype are in a high risk group. Because mitochondrial haplogroup U is found in 9.35% of the white United States population, there are more than 20 million individuals in this high risk group.

Link

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16406974?dopt=Abstract

The Kalash

The most prevalent Mitochondrial Haplogroup in the Kalash people is U4.
Who are the Kalash?


































"The Kalash (Urdu: کیلاش ;Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalasha, are an ethnic group of the Hindu Kush mountain range, residing in the Chitral district of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalash language, a member of the Dardic family of Indo-Aryan Languages."


Russian Old Believers: genetic consequences of their persecution and exile, as shown by mitochondrial DNA evidence

Russian Old Believers: genetic consequences of their persecution and exile, as shown by mitochondrial DNA evidence

Human Biology June 01, 2008 Rubinstein, Samara; Duuk, Matthew C.; Gokcumen, Omer; Zhadanov, Sergey; Osipova, Ludmila; Cocca, Maggie; Mehta, Nishi; Gubina, Marina; Posukh, Olga; Schurr, Theodore G

Abstract

In 1653, the Patriarch Nikon modified liturgical practices to bring the Russian Orthodox Church in line with those of the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Church, from which it had split 200 years earlier. The Old Believers (staroveri) rejected these changes and continued to worship using the earlier practices. These actions resulted in their persecution by the Russian Orthodox Church, which forced them into exile across Siberia. Given their history, we investigate whether populations of Old Believers have diverged genetically from other Slavic populations as a result of their isolation. We also examine whether the three Old Believer populations analyzed in this study are part of a single gene pool (founder population) or are instead derived from heterogeneous sources. As part of this analysis, we survey the mitochondrial DNAs (mtDNAs) of 189 Russian Old Believer individuals from three populations in Siberia and 201 ethnic Russians from different parts of Siberia for phylogenetically informative mutations in the coding and noncoding regions. Our results indicate that the Old Believers have not significantly diverged genetically from other Slavic populations over the 200-300 years of their isolation in Siberia. However, they do show some unique patterns of mtDNA variation relative to other Slavic groups, such as a high frequency of subhaplogroup U4, a surprisingly low frequency of haplogroup H, and low frequencies of the rare East Eurasian subhaplogroup D5.

Link

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-36262826_ITM

Tracing European founder lineages in the Near Eastern mtDNA pool

Tracing European founder lineages in the Near Eastern mtDNA pool

Richards M, Macaulay V, Hickey E, Vega E, Sykes B, Guida V, Rengo C, Sellitto D, Cruciani F, Kivisild T, Villems R, Thomas M, Rychkov S, Rychkov O, Rychkov Y, Gölge M, Dimitrov D, Hill E, Bradley D, Romano V, Calì F, Vona G, Demaine A, Papiha S, Triantaphyllidis C, Stefanescu G, Hatina J, Belledi M, Di Rienzo A, Novelletto A, Oppenheim A, Nørby S, Al-Zaheri N, Santachiara-Benerecetti S, Scozari R, Torroni A, Bandelt HJ.

Abstract

Founder analysis is a method for analysis of nonrecombining DNA sequence data, with the aim of identification and dating of migrations into new territory. The method picks out founder sequence types in potential source populations and dates lineage clusters deriving from them in the settlement zone of interest. Here, using mtDNA, we apply the approach to the colonization of Europe, to estimate the proportion of modern lineages whose ancestors arrived during each major phase of settlement. To estimate the Palaeolithic and Neolithic contributions to European mtDNA diversity more accurately than was previously achievable, we have now extended the Near Eastern, European, and northern-Caucasus databases to 1,234, 2, 804, and 208 samples, respectively. Both back-migration into the source population and recurrent mutation in the source and derived populations represent major obstacles to this approach. We have developed phylogenetic criteria to take account of both these factors, and we suggest a way to account for multiple dispersals of common sequence types. We conclude that (i) there has been substantial back-migration into the Near East, (ii) the majority of extant mtDNA lineages entered Europe in several waves during the Upper Palaeolithic, (iii) there was a founder effect or bottleneck associated with the Last Glacial Maximum, 20,000 years ago, from which derives the largest fraction of surviving lineages, and (iv) the immigrant Neolithic component is likely to comprise less than one-quarter of the mtDNA pool of modern Europeans.

Link

http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Richards2000.pdf

Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny in Eastern and Western Slavs

Here is a great paper on U4 submitted by Kelly:


Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny in Eastern and Western Slavs

B. Malyarchuk*, T. Grzybowski, M. Derenko*, M. Perkova*, T. Vanecek, J. Lazur, P. Gomolcak and I. Tsybovsky¶


Abstract

To resolve the phylogeny of certain mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups in eastern Europe and estimate their evolutionary age, a total of 73 samples representing mitochondrial haplogroups U4, HV*, and R1 were selected for complete mitochondrial genome sequencing from a collection of about 2,000 control region sequences sampled in eastern (Russians, Belorussians, and Ukrainians) and western (Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks) Slavs. On the basis of whole-genome resolution, we fully characterized a number of haplogroups (HV3, HV4, U4a1, U4a2, U4a3, U4b, U4c, U4d, and R1a) that were previously described only partially. Our findings demonstrate that haplogroups HV3, HV4, and U4a1 could be traced back to the pre-Neolithic times (12,000–19,000 years before present [YBP]) in eastern Europe. In addition, an ancient connection between the Caucasus/Europe and India has been revealed by analysis of haplogroup R1 diversity, with a split between the Indian and Caucasus/European R1a lineages occurring about 16,500 years ago. Meanwhile, some mtDNA subgroups detected in Slavs (such as U4a2a, U4a2*, HV3a, and R1a1) are definitely younger being dated between 6,400 and 8,200 YBP. However, robust age estimations appear to be problematic due to the high ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions found in young mtDNA subclusters.

Link:

http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/25/8/1651

Guest Blogger

Hello all,

Debbie Kennett over at http://cruwys.blogspot.com/ wrote a great piece on her U4 mtDNA results. I asked her if I could repost it here, and she graciously agreed.

Thanks Debbie!

My mtDNA Results

I've now received my mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test results from Family Tree DNA. Somewhat surprisingly my maternal line belongs to haplogroup U4, a small Indo-European haplogroup which seems to be quite rare. The haplogroup is found in only 1.63% of the population of England and Wales. The highest frequencies of U4 are found in southern Siberia, and it is also found in Eastern Europe, the Urals, in some German-speaking populations and in a few lineages in India.Brian Sykes gives names to the seven main European mitochondrial haplogroups in his book The Seven Daughters of Eve. All the women in Europe can supposedly trace their genetic ancestry back to one of these seven women. Haplogroup U4 is not one of Sykes's original clan mothers but is a sub-clade or sub-branch of haplogroup U, otherwise known as Ursula. "Ursula" lived around 45,000 years ago. "Ulrike" is of more recent origin and lived around 18,000 years ago. Sykes describes Ulrike thus:


The clan of Ulrike (German for Mistress of All) is
not among the original "Seven Daughters of Eve" clans, but with just under 2% of
Europeans among its members, it has a claim to being included among the
numerically important clans. Ulrike lived about 18,000 years ago in the cold
refuges of the Ukraine at the northern limits of human habitation. Though
Ulrike's descendants are nowhere common, the clan is found today mainly in the
east and north of Europe with particularly high concentrations in Scandinavia
and the Baltic states.

I have so far been able to trace my direct maternal line back to Mary Ann Butler, the daughter of James Butler, a labourer. Mary Ann was born in Purton, Wiltshire, in around 1815. She married Moses Ball in 1842 in Walcot, Somerset. Moses and Mary Ann had six children who were born in Sherston, Wiltshire, and Westonbirt, Gloucestershire. My maternal line continues with their daughter Hannah Ball, who moved to London and married William Saunders, a coachman and stage coach driver, on 16th June 1872 at the Parish Church of St Marks in North Audley Street. The other names in the later generations of my maternal line are Tidbury, Rattey and of course Cruwys.Mutations occur much less frequently in mitochondrial DNA and the tests are therefore not so useful as the Y-DNA test which we are using for the Cruwys DNA Project. Most people who take the mtDNA test have large numbers of matches in the various databases. Not surprisingly, with my rare U4 haplotype, I do not have a single match in the Family Tree DNA database. I have also uploaded my results to Mitosearch, the public mtDNA database sponsored by Family Tree DNA, but again I do not have any matches. It is also possible to search the Mitosearch database by haplogroup. There are only 472 people in the whole world with my haplogroup in the database at present.I regard the mtDNA test as an investment for the future. My grandmother was an only child and my great-grandmother was the only daughter in her family. My sister and I have both had sons so our direct maternal line is now at an end. Sons do of course inherit mtDNA from their mother but they cannot pass it on to the next generation. My mtDNA results will have more value as more people in the UK get tested and once I start to make further progress with my research into my maternal line in Wiltshire. With a rare haplogroup it should also be much easier to verify my maternal line.

Haplogroup U4 History from 23andme.com

Haplogroup U4 History from 23andme.com

About 45,000 years ago, humans began moving from the Near East onto the vast plains of eastern Europe. Haplogroup U4 appears to have arisen shortly after this initial colonization, about 40,000 years ago. Not long afterward, the approaching Ice Age made most of northern Eurasia uninhabitable, and all but a few small groups of humans were pushed southward into the less frigid regions. During the early stages of the Ice Age, U4 was mostly restricted to southeastern Europe and the Caucasus Mountains. However, as the glaciers receded and temperatures warmed, U4 began to expand. Its expansions soon spawned four daughter branches: U4a, U4b, U4c and U4d.

Today, U4 is most common among northwestern Siberian populations, reaching levels as high as 25% in the Krasnoyarsk Krai region of central Siberia. It can also be found at lower levels, around 5-10%, among the Mari, Mordvin, and Mansi people of the Volga-Ural region of western Russia as well as the Estonians and Finns who surround the Baltic Sea of Europe. In both these regions, people speak related languages belonging to the Finno-Ugric family. As the ancestors of these present-day Finno-Ugric speakers expanded westward from the Ural Mountains across the northern forests of Europe they carried with them the U4 haplogroup, which was gradually enveloped into other European populations along the Baltic and Atlantic coasts such as the Swedish, French, and Cornish.Haplogroup U4a

Unlike haplogroups U4c and U4d, which are comparably rare, U4a is found throughout northern Eurasia. It diverged from its U4 sister lineages about 21,000 years ago in the region surrounding the Baltic Sea. Today it is most common among the people of the Volga River and Ural Mountains of Russia, such as the Chuvash, Kets and Mari. It is also common among the Baltic and Finnish people of northern Europe who speak languages related to the Finno-Ugric tongues of the Volga-Ural region in western Russia.

The Finno-Ugric speakers surrounding the Baltic Sea and the northwestern Siberian groups both probably originated in the same spot, just north of the Black Sea. The spread of some branches of U4a can be tied to the spread of the Corded Ware, or "Battle Axe" culture that permeated much of Europe about 5,000 years ago, stretching from the Rhine River in the west to the Volga River in the east. Today, U4a is also present at low levels in western European populations, but the expansion farther west is clearly younger than the northward expansion. The expansion of people carrying U4a into western Europe is probably a consequence of the glacial retreat after the Last Ice Age, when many areas that had been covered in ice or otherwise uninhabitable began to show signs of life. U4a in European populations outside of the Baltic area is only about 12,000 years old.

Haplogroup of Conquerors

Recent research suggests that on two occasions during ancient times, conquering armies carried haplogroup U4 to new parts of the world. In Hungary, the haplogroup has been found at levels of 18% in DNA isolated from the 10th and 11th century tombs of Magyar conquerors who invaded the country around the turn of the 10th century.
Yet U4 was nonexistent in the graves of commoners who were buried at that time, and it is present at levels of only about 4% among Hungarians today. That pattern suggests that the Magyars, who introduced their language to Hungary, were never very numerous in spite of their cultural influence. It also helps explain why Hungarians have a language that is distinct from other eastern European tongues, even though they are fairly similar to their neighbors genetically.

The other case involving conquering armies and the U4 haplogroup is more mysterious. The Kalash are a small ethnic group of a few thousand people living in the three isolated mountain valleys on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Distinct from their neighbors in culture, religion and appearance, they claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great, whose armies conquered the region during the 4th century BC.

While genetics can't be used to support that claim specifically, it does indicate a western Eurasian origin for the group. One out of three Kalash have mitochondrial DNA belonging to haplogroup U4, indicating an origin in the Near East or the Caucasus. In fact, every mitochondrial haplogroup found among the Kalash has its roots far to the west of their current homeland.

https://www.23andme.com/you/haplogroup/maternal/?viewgroup=U4&tab=story#citations

U4 Greeting






Above are my HVR1 results.
Here is the same in text format: 16265G 16356C 16362C 16519C
I have created this blog to meet other U4's and exchange information. We seem to be a rare group so if you are a U4 please email me or post! I know very little about this haplogroup but hope to add information over the next few months and create a hub for U4 information.