According to mtDNA studies by Holden (2005) and Richards et al. (2006), a significant proportion of the maternal lineages of Somalis consists of the M1 haplogroup. This mitochondrial clade is common among <answer>Ethiopians</answer> and North Africans, particularly Egyptians and Algerians. M1 is believed to have originated in Asia, where its parent M clade represents the majority of mtDNA lineages. This haplogroup is also thought to possibly correlate with the Afro-Asiatic language family:
Along with Egyptians, Algerians and Somalis, what people commonly possess the M1 haplogroup?
Ethiopians