Mystery of Haplogroup X

Haplogroup X is a rare and puzzling type of mitochondrial DNA found in small percentages among people in Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and notably, among some Indigenous groups in North America. While other Native American DNA haplogroups can be traced to Asia and the Bering land bridge migration, Haplogroup X-specifically its X2a variant-doesn't follow this pattern and is strangely absent in East Asia. This has led to confusion among scientists about how it ended up in North America at all, especially since it shows up in high percentages among tribes like the Algonquian, Sioux, and Navajo. The highest known concentrations in the world are among the Druze people of the Near East, who also show exceptional diversity in this haplogroup, suggesting ancient and isolated origins.

Various theories have tried to explain this genetic mystery. One early theory, the Solutrean hypothesis, claimed that Haplogroup X arrived in North America via Stone Age Europeans crossing the Atlantic by boat, but newer studies show no link between the American X2a and any European DNA. Instead, it appears that X2a developed independently in early Native American populations over 13,000 years ago. Other fringe ideas-from ancient Israelites to Atlanteans to aliens-have been floated but lack any scientific backing.

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