What does chromosomal Adam mean?

It is the term used to designate the oldest known common male ancestor. It is from this that the paternal lineage begins, which has undergone various modifications giving rise to the haplogroups present in the current population.

The main theories hold that this common ancestor, called “Y-chromosomal Adam”, would be of African origin and would have the original Y chromosome, which would give rise to the different varieties (Y chromosomes have mutations that differentiate them among individuals, as with the other chromosomes in the genome).

It is considered that the Y-chromosomal Adam would be between 275,000 and 340,000 years old. The oldest haplogroup would be the so-called haplogroup A00, which diverged directly from Adam 235,000 years ago.