It is important, however, to be precise about what mitochondrial haplogroup identification does and does not establish.

A haplogroup is not a complete genetic portrait of an individual.

It reflects only the maternal lineage — one thread in the complex tapestry of an individual’s ancestry.

Two people can share a haplogroup and be only distantly related through their maternal lines, while having very different ancestry on their paternal sides and through all the other lineages that contribute to their genetic composition.

Haplogroup identification also does not establish a specific cultural, linguistic, or tribal identity.