MtDNA of Mary Magdalene

[JQP4545]

I am surprised that little has been mentioned about this study that was published in 2016: http://www.ijsciences.com/pub/pdf/V52016121167.pdf

The authors acquired an mtDNA sample from a lock of Mary Magdalene's hair in St. Maximin's basilica and found her to belong to haplogroup K1a1b1a. Most researchers still speculate the haplogroup K in Ashkenazi Jews originated in Europe, however this study lends evidence that the maternal lineage of Ashkenazi Jews was native to the Levant. I was surprised not only that the maternal lineage of Ashkenazi Jews may originate in the Levant, but that the lock of hair was authentic.

[Unknown European]

K1a1b1a is probably A marker that found its way into contemporary Jews by one or more women most likely from Roman Italy marrying into the Roman/Italian Jewish community on the Italian peninsula then spread out of Italy into Iberia, France, and Germany. K1a1b1a is found at low levels in Sephardic Jews but very common in Ashkenazi Jews about 19-25% and is more common in the more Western regions where Ashkenazi Jews historically lived