Origins of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa phenotype, genotype, cultural memory of inhabitants of Rwanda, archeology, and linguistics. Most Tutsis and Hutus carry the E1b1a paternal haplogroup, which is common among Bantu populations. More recent studies have de-emphasized physical appearance, such as height and nose width, in favor of examining blood factors, the presence of the sickle cell trait, lactose intolerance in adults, and other genotype expressions. Excoffier et al. (1987) found that the Tutsi and Hima, despite being surrounded by Bantu populations, are "closer genetically to Cushites and Ethiosemites". Another study concluded that, while the sickle cell trait among the Rwandan Hutu was comparable to that
Origins of Hutu, Tutsi and Twa largely of Bantu extraction (60% E1b1a, 20% B, 4% E3). Paternal genetic influences associated with the Horn of Africa and North Africa are few (under 3% E1b1b), and are ascribed to much earlier inhabitants who were assimilated. However, the Tutsi have considerably more haplogroup B paternal lineages (14.9% B) than do the Hutu (4.3% B). Trombetta et al. (2015) found 22.2% of E1b1b in a small sample of Tutsis from Burundi, but no bearers of the haplogroup among the local Hutu and Twa populations. The subclade was of the M293 variety, which suggests that the ancestors of Tutsis in this