Haplogroup L-M20 is a human Y-DNA haplogroup, which is defined by SNPs M11, M20, M61 and M185. As a secondary descendant of haplogroup K and a primary branch of haplogroup LT, haplogroup L currently has the alternative phylogenetic name of K1a, and is a sibling of haplogroup T (a.k.a. K1b).

The presence of L-M20 has been observed at varying levels throughout South Asia, peaking in populations native to the southern Pakistani province of Balochistan (28%), Northern Afghanistan (25%), and Southern India (19%). The clade also occurs in Tajikistan and Anatolia, as well as at lower frequencies in Iran. It has also been present for millennia at very low levels in the Caucasus, Europe and Central Asia. The subclade L2 (L-L595) has been found in Europe and Western Asia, but is extremely rare.

Phylogenetic tree There are several confirmed and proposed phylogenetic trees available for haplogroup L-M20. The scientifically accepted one is the Y-Chromosome Consortium (YCC) one published in Karafet 2008 and subsequently updated. A draft tree that shows emerging science is provided by Thomas Krahn at the Genomic Research Center in Houston, Texas. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) also provides an amateur tree.

This is Thomas Krahn at the Genomic Research Center's Draft tree Proposed Tree for haplogroup L-M20: L-M20 M11, M20, M61, M185, L656, L863, L878, L879 L-M22 (L1) M22, M295, PAGES00121 L-M317 (L1b) M317, L655 L-L656 (L1b1) L656 L-M349 (L1b1a) M349 L-M274 M274 L-L1310 L1310 L-SK1412 L-L1304 L1304 L-M27 (L1a1) M27, M76, P329.1, L1318, L1319, L1320, L1321 L-M357 (L1a2) M357, L1307 L-PK3 PK3 L-L1305 L1305, L1306, L1307 L-L595 (L2) L595 L-L864 L864, L865, L866, L867, L868, L869, L870, L877

Origins L-M20 is a descendant of Haplogroup LT,International Society of Genetic Genealogy (30 May 2015) "Y-DNA Haplogroup Tree 2015". which is a descendant of haplogroup K-M9.International Society of Genetic Genealogy (5 April 2015) "Y-DNA Haplogroup K and its Subclades – 2015". According to Dr. Spencer Wells, L-M20 originated in the Eurasian K-M9 clan that migrated eastwards from the Middle East, and later southwards from the Pamir Knot into present-day Pakistan and India. These people arrived in the Indian subcontinent approximately 30,000 years ago. Hence, it is hypothesized that the first bearer of M20 marker was born either in the subcontinent or the Middle East. Other studies have proposed either a Southern Iran or South Asian origin for L-M20 and associated its expansion in the Indus valley to Neolithic farmers. It is also suggested that L-M20 may be one of the haplogroups of the original creators of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Time estimates generated based on seven Y-STR loci within L-M20 lineages for north (14.6±7.3 kya) and south (17.8±8.4 kya) Afghanistan populations are intermediate to those of Pakistan (26.3±5.3 kya) and India (7.5±1.7 kya). Furthermore, Pakistan displays higher haplotype variance (0.548) than India (0.118), suggesting that L-M20 most likely originated in what is today Pakistan then subsequently spread into southern India.

McElreavy and Quintana-Murci, writing on the Indus Valley Civilisation, state that

Sengupta et al. (2006) observed three subbranches of haplogroup L: L1-M76 (L1a1), L2-M317 (L1b) and L3-M357 (L1a2), with distinctive geographic affiliations. Almost all Indian members of haplogroup L are L1 derived, with L3-M357 occurring only sporadically (0.4%). Conversely in Pakistan, L3-M357 subclade account for 86% of L-M20 chromosomes and reaches an intermediate frequency of 6.8%, overall. L1-M76 occurs at a frequency of 7.5% in India and 5.1% in Pakistan, exhibiting peak variance distribution in the Maharashtra region in coastal western India.

Proposed Elamo-Dravidian connection The contentious Elamo-Dravidian hypothesis posits that the proto–Elamo-Dravidian language originated and spread from ancient Elam (present-day southwestern Iran) into the Indian subcontinent with agriculture, and that the Harappan language of the Indus Valley Civilisation was a related one. Some genetic studies propose a link between the migratory pattern of lineages derived from subclade L1-M22 and the spread of Elamo-Dravidian languages. According to Palanichamy et al. (2015), the presence of several haplogroup L subclades among Iranian populations and mostly L1a among Dravidian peoples of South India, while being rare among Indo-Aryan speakers, along with the coalescence time (~9.1 kya), indicate that L1a arrived from Iran through Neolithic farmers, and was probably responsible for the spread of the Dravidian language to India.

According to Pathak et at. (2024), subclade L1-M22 originated in West Asia about 20,600 ybp. Based on the findings from recent genetic researches, this study emphasizes that the Iranian element within the Indus valley population came from Caucasus/Iranian hunter-gatherers (CIHG), who were related to, yet different from Iranian farmers. The study supports the Elamo-Dravidian hypothesis by connecting all L1a lineages to the original CIHG population, whose descendants settled in both Elam and the Indus valley. The study puts forward the view that L1a descendants that remained in West Asia possibly participated in the development of the Elamite language, while the ones that moved from the Iranian plateau to the Indus valley, after 8000 ybp, introduced Dravidian languages to South Asia. In the Indus valley, people of CIHG ancestry mixed with those of Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI) ancestry, to form the Indus Periphery Cline (IPC) lineage that typically represented the IVC population. It is suggested that after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, the IPC groups moved eastwards and southwards, and mixed with the pre-existing AASI heavy populations, giving rise to the Ancestral South Indians (ASI), an ancestry which correlates strongly with the spread of Dravidian languages.

Geographical distribution In India, L-M20 has a higher frequency among Dravidian castes, but is somewhat rarer in Indo-Aryan castes. In Pakistan, it has a frequency of about 28% in the southern regions including southern Baluchistan, from where the agricultural creators of the Indus valley civilization emerged .

Preliminary evidence gleaned from non-scientific sources, such as individuals who have had their Y-chromosomes tested by commercial labs, suggests that most European examples of Haplogroup L-M20 might belong to the subclade L2-M317, which is, among South Asian populations, generally the rarest of the subclades of Haplogroup L.

South Asia

India It has higher frequency among Dravidian castes (ca. 17-19%) but is somewhat rarer in Indo-Aryan castes (ca. 5-6%). The presence of haplogroup L-M20 is quite rare among tribal groups (ca. 5,6-7%).( However, the Korova tribe of Uttara Kannada in which L-M11 occurs at 68% is an exception.

A 2018 study primarily focussed on Northwest India, a region formerly covered by Indus Valley Civilisation, found significant presence of L-M20 among the populations studied; viz. Gujjar of Rajasthan (63%), Ror of Haryana (29%) and Kamboj of Rajasthan (17%). L2a2 is around 62.7% among Brokpa of Ladakh. With a frequency of 54.9%, L-M20 constitutes a major lineage among Indian Parsi priests. It reaches an overall frequency of 21% among Indian Parsis, in general. L-M20 was found at 38% in the Bharwad caste and 21% in Charan caste from Junagarh district in Gujarat. It has also been reported at 17% in the Kare Vokkal tribe from Uttara Kannada in Karnataka. It is also found at low frequencies in other populations from Junagarh district and Uttara Kannada. L-M20 is the single largest male lineage (36.8%) among the Jat people of Northern India and is found at 16.33% among the Gujar's of Jammu and Kashmir. It also occurs at 18.6% among the Konkanastha Brahmins of the Konkan region and at 15% among the Maratha's of Maharashtra. L-M20 is also found at 32.35% in the Vokkaligas and at 17.82% in the Lingayats of Karnataka.

And available data shows that among Tamils, L-M20 is found at 48% among Kallar, 28.57% among Vanniyars, 26% among the Saurashtra people, 25.47% among the Nadars, 20.7% among the Ambalakarar, 20.56% among Tamil Yadavas, 17.2% among the Iyer and 16.7% among the Iyengar castes of Tamil Nadu. L-M11 is found in frequencies of 8-16% among Indian Jews. L-M20 has an overall frequency of 12% in Punjab. 2% of Siddis have also been reported with L-M11. Haplogroup L-M20 is currently present in the Indian population at an overall frequency of ca. 7-15%.see , , , and .

Pakistan The greatest concentration of Haplogroup L-M20 is along the Indus River in Pakistan where the Indus Valley civilization flourished during 3300–1300 BC with its mature period between 2600 and 1900 BCE. L-M357's highest frequency and diversity is found in the Balochistan province at 28% with a moderate distribution among the general Pakistani population at 11.6%. It is also found in Afghanistan ethnic counterparts as well, such as with the Pashtuns and Balochis. L-M357 is found frequently among Burusho (approx. 12%) and Pashtuns (approx. 7%),

L1a and L1c-M357 are found at 24% among Balochis, L1a and L1c are found at 8% among the Dravidian-speaking Brahui, L1c is found at 25% among Kalash, L1c is found at 15% among Burusho, L1a-M76 and L1b-M317 are found at 2% among the Makranis and L1c is found at 3.6% of Sindhis according to Julie di Cristofaro et al. 2013. L-M20 is found at 17.78% among the Parsis. L3a is found at 23% among the Nuristanis in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

L-PK3 is found in approximately 23% of Kalash in northwest Pakistan.

In one study, the haplogroup L was found also observed among the Gurjars of Swabi district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a frequency of (20.97%) in northwest Pakistan.

Middle East and Anatolia L-M20 was found in 51% of Syrians from Raqqa, a northern Syrian city whose previous inhabitants were wiped out by Mongol genocides and repopulated in recent times by local Bedouin populations and Chechen war refugees from Russia . In a small sample of Israeli Druze haplogroup L-M20 was found in 7 out of 20 (35%). However, studies done on bigger samples showed that L-M20 averages 5% in Israeli Druze,12/222 Shlush et al. 2008 8% in Lebanese Druze,1/25 Shlush et al. 2008 and it was not found in a sample of 59 Syrian Druze. Haplogroup L-M20 has been found in 2.0% (1/50) to 5.25% (48/914) of Lebanese .

Populations Distribution Source Turkey 57% in Afshar village, 12% (10/83) in Black Sea Region, 6.6% (7/106) of Turks in Turkey, 4.2% (1/523 L-M349 and 21/523 L-M11(xM27, M349)) , Iran 54.9% (42/71) L in Priest Zoroastrian Parsis22.2% L1b and L1c in South Iran (2/9)8% to 16% L2-L595, L1a, L1b and L1c of Kurds in Kordestan (2-4/25)9.1% L-M20 (7/77) of Persians in Eastern Iran 3.4% L-M76 (4/117) and 2.6% L-M317 (3/117) for a total of 6.0% (7/117) haplogroup L-M20 in Southern Iran 3.0% (1/33) L-M357 in Northern Iran 4.2% L1c-M357 of Azeris in East Azeris (1/21) 4.8% L1a and L1b of Persians in Esfahan (2/42) , , Syria 51.0% (33/65) of Syrians in Raqqa, 31.0% of Eastern Syrians Laz 41.7% (15/36) L1b-M317 Saudi Arabians 15.6% ( 4/32 of L-M76 and 1/32 of L-317 ) 1.91% (2/157=1.27% L-M76 and 1/157=0.64% L-M357) Kurds 3.2% of Kurds in Southeast Turkey Iraq 3.1% (2/64) L-M22 Armenians 1.63% (12/734) to 4.3% (2/47) and Omanis 1% L-M11 Qataris 2.8% (2/72 L-M76) UAE Arabs 3.0% (4/164 L-M76 and 1/164 L-M357)

Central Asia

Afghanistan