According to The Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, H. 12 de Octubre, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain that have complete the survey “HLA genes in Macedonians and the sub-Saharan origin of the Greeks ,“ greeks are found to have a substantial relatedness to sub-Saharan (Ethiopian) people, which separate them from other Mediterranean groups.

Link of the National Center for Biotechnology Information U.S. National Library of Medicine: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...t=AbstractPlus

Both Greeks and Ethiopians share quasi-specific DRB1 alleles, such as *0305, *0307, *0411, *0413, *0416, *0417, *0420, *1110, *1112, *1304 and *1310. Genetic distances are closer between Greeks and Ethiopian/sub-Saharan groups than to any other Mediterranean group and finally Greeks cluster with Ethiopians/sub-Saharans in both neighbour joining dendrograms and correspondence analyses. The time period when these relationships might have occurred was ancient but uncertain and might be related to the displacement of Egyptian-Ethiopian people living in pharaonic Egypt. Also the sickle-cell anemia or malarial-immune engrams, which the littoral Greek and African populations are medically known to share!

The Haplotypes which are shared between Greeks and Africans are E3b, and Haplotype R. Haplotype R is Eurasian in origin, and its prescence in African populations (particularly Nigeria) researchers believe represents an ancient migration into the Cameroons from Eurasia.

Haplotype E3b is found in high numbers in Berbers and Arabs (80%, 70%), in medium numbers from the Middle East to the central Mediterranean (26% in Lebanese, 22% in Greece, 14% in Macedonia), and in low numbers throughout the rest of Europe (eg. 6.2 in Germany, 2.2 % in Spanish Basques).

HLA alleles have been determined in individuals from the Republic of Macedonia by DNA typing and sequencing. HLA-A, -B, -DR, -DQ allele frequencies and extended haplotypes have been for the first time determined and the results compared to those of other Mediterraneans, particularly with their neighbouring Greeks. Genetic distances, neighbor-joining dendrograms and correspondence analysis have been performed.

The following conclusions have been reached:

1) Macedonians belong to the "older" Mediterranean substratum, like Iberians (including Basques), North Africans, Italians, French, Cretans, Jews, Lebanese, Turks (Anatolians), Armenians and Iranians;

2) Macedonians are not related with geographically close Greeks, who do not belong to the "older" Mediterranenan substratum;

3) Greeks are found to have a substantial relatedness to sub-Saharan (Ethiopian) people, which separate them from other Mediterranean groups. Both Greeks and Ethiopians share quasi-specific DRB1 alleles, such as *0305, *0307, *0411, *0413, *0416, *0417, *0420, *1110, *1112, *1304 and *1310.

Genetic distances are closer between Greeks and Ethiopian/sub-Saharan groups than to any other Mediterranean group and finally Greeks cluster with Ethiopians/sub-Saharans in both neighbour joining dendrograms and correspondence analyses. The time period when these relationships might have occurred was ancient but uncertain and might be related to the displacement of Egyptian-Ethiopian people living in pharaonic Egypt.

Years ago I had a conversation with Tony Brown (Tony Brown's journal) about this. He had done researchof his own tracing the Greeks to an African tribe known as the Pelgasians. He later went on to write a fairly extensive article about all this and it was published in our national fraternity magazine the sPhinx. Note though, our organizations are not saying that they are "Greek" per se. They are merely greek-lettered organizations and those letters actually have fairly afro-centric symbolic meanings.