Brit-Am
DNA and
Anthropology Updates
Updates in DNA studies along with Anthropological Notes of general interest with a particular emphasis on points pertinent to the study of Ancient Israelite Ancestral Connections to Western Peoples as explained in Brit-Am studies.
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Brit-Am Anthropology and DNA Update
Contents:
1. European Cattle from the Near East
(i.e. Israel and its neighborhood)
2. The true face of Julius Caesar
3. First Genetic Evidence Of Long-lived African Presence Within Britain
4. Has the Genetic Base of Scandinavia "Evolved"
Sinbce
the Iron Age?
5. Roman Britain: Immigrants came from all over?
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1. European Cattle from the Near East
(i.e. Israel and its neighborhood)
Paleogenetics of cattle domestication
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2008/05/paleogenetics-of-cattle-domestication.html
Research on modern cattle had suggested the Neolithic Near Eastern origin of
domesticated cattle, but also that some of the European aurochsen transmitted
their mtDNA to European cattle. By looking at prehistoric mtDNA, the researchers
were able to discover that the Neolithic to Bronze Age cattle of Europe lacked
the native aurochs mtDNA and were exclusively descended from the domesticated
animals brought into Europe from the Near East.
2. The true face of Julius Caesar
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/2008/05/true-face-of-julius-caesar.html
The culture ministry said that the life-sized bust is believed to be the
oldest of the Roman emperor ever discovered.
It portrays the Roman ruler at an advanced age, with wrinkles and hollows in his
face."
3. First Genetic Evidence Of Long-lived
African Presence Within Britain
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070124072328.htm
ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2007) ? New research has identified the first genetic
evidence of Africans having lived amongst "indigenous" British people for
centuries. Their descendants, living across the UK today, were unaware of their
black ancestry.
The University of Leicester study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and published
today in the journal European Journal of Human Genetics, found that one third of
men with a rare Yorkshire surname carry a rare Y chromosome type previously
found only amongst people of West African origin.
The researchers, led by Professor Mark Jobling, of the Department of Genetics at
the University of Leicester, first spotted the rare Y chromosome type, known as
hgA1, in one individual, Mr. X. This happened whilst PhD student Ms. Turi King
was sampling a larger group in a study to explore the association between
surnames and the Y chromosome, both inherited from father to son. Mr. X, a white
Caucasian living in Leicester, was unaware of having any African ancestors.
"As you can imagine, we were pretty amazed to find this result in someone
unaware of having any African roots," explains Professor Jobling, a Wellcome
Trust Senior Research Fellow. "The Y chromosome is passed down from father to
son, so this suggested that Mr. X must have had African ancestry somewhere down
the line. Our study suggests that this must have happened some time ago."
Although most of Britain's one million people who define themselves as "Black or
Black British" owe their origins to immigration from the Caribbean and Africa
from the mid-twentieth century onwards, in reality, there has been a long
history of contact with Africa. Africans were first recorded in the north 1800
years ago, as Roman soldiers defending Hadrian's Wall.
To investigate the origins of hgA1 in Britain, the team recruited and studied a
further eighteen males with the same surname as Mr. X. All but one were from the
UK, with paternal parents and grandparents also born in Britain. Six, including
one male in the US whose ancestors had migrated from England in 1894, were found
to have the hgA1 chromosome.
Further genealogical research to identify a common ancestor for all seven
X-surnamed males suggests that the hgA1 Y chromosome must have entered their
lineage over 250 years ago. However, it is unclear whether the male ancestor was
a first generation African immigrant or a European man carrying an African Y
chromosome introduced into Britain some time earlier, or even whether the hgA1 Y
chromosome goes back as far as the Roman occupation.
"This study shows that what it means to be British is complicated and always has
been," says Professor Jobling. "Human migration history is clearly very complex,
particularly for an island nation such as ours, and this study further debunks
the idea that there are simple and distinct populations or 'races'."
In addition, Professor Jobling believes that the research may have implications
for DNA profiling in criminal investigations.
"Forensic scientists use DNA analysis to predict a person's ethnic origins, for
example from hair or blood samples found at a crime scene. Whilst they are very
likely to predict the correct ethnicity by using wider analysis of DNA other
than the Y chromosome, finding this remarkable African chromosome would
certainly have them scratching their heads for a while."
4. Has the Genetic Base of Scandinavia
"Evolved" Since the Iron Age?
Evidence of Authentic DNA from Danish Viking Age Skeletons Untouched by
Humans for 1,000 Years
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0002214
Linea Melchior1, Toomas Kivisild2, Niels Lynnerup3, Jorgen Dissing1*
Extract: (a) The Findings
Rare mtDNA haplogroups
Given the small sample sizes the Viking population sample from Galgedil does not
differ significantly from other Viking and Iron Age population samples from the
Danish past by the haplogroup frequency distribution, however, it is noted that
five of the ten subjects harbour mtDNA haplotypes which have either not been
observed or are infrequent in modern Scandinavians (Table 1). In particular the
observation of haplotype X2c is interesting (subject G7). Haplogroup X is itself
rare (0.9% in Scandinavians [51]) but has a very wide geographic range, and X2c
is a rare subgroup of X accounting for only 5% of 175 Hg X samples surveyed in
2003 [52]. A possible European (Viking?) origin of haplotype X2a identified
among Native Americans has been suggested [53], [54], but X2a has not been
detected in Europe and the present observation of X2c amongst the Vikings does
not support this proposal.
Among present day Scandinavians Hg I constitutes <2% [55], [56], however, we
have previously observed a markedly higher frequency (10-20%) of Hg I in Danish
Iron Age and Viking Age population samples (Table S3) [16], [21]. With the
observation of Hg I for subject G6 this trend is also seen for the Viking
population sample from Galgedil. Interestingly, Hg I shows a low frequency (1
out of 114 subjects) among other ancient populations in Italy, Spain, Great
Britain, and early central European farmers [11], [12], [43], [57].
Table 1 showed:
G1, Grave 1 Haplogroup K
G2, Grave 2 Haplogroup H
G3, Grave 3 Haplogroup H
G4, Grave 4 Haplogroup H
G5, Grave 5 Haplogroup USa1a
G1, Grave 6 Haplogroup I
G1, Grave 7 Haplogroup X2c
G8, Grave 8 Haplogroup H
G9, Grave 9 Haplogroup T2
G10, Grave 10 Haplogroup H
In Table 1 each finding is accompanied by more technical detail and commentary.
(b) Comment on the Findings:
From: Gisele Horvat <g-horvat@shaw.ca>
Subject: [HumanMigrations] Viking mtDNAs
This is an attempt, perhaps a feeble one, to augment the
information provided in the last column of Table 1 (which
describes the distribution of the sequences determined).
Sequences identical to or close to the ancient Viking ones
have been reported in the following locations (at least):
G1 - Spain, Shetland Isles, Orkney, Scotland W. I.,
Ireland, Britain, Iceland, Slovenia, Uzbekistan
G2 - Shetland Isles, Orkney, Ireland, Sp. Basque, Belarus,
Khoremian Uzbek, Armenia, Turkey, Poland, Karelia, Wales
G3 - Bosnia
G4 - Ireland, Britain, Orkney, France, Germany, Armenia,
Algeria
G7 - Portugal, Finland, Scotland W. I., Andalusia, Basque,
Russia, Tenerife, Germany, Berber, Poland
G8 - Bulgaria (Roma)
G10 - Poland
Article:
http://tinyurl.com/3gyve3
(c) Brit-Am Comment:
The above findings only show one sample of mt haplogroup I
Nevertheless the comment below is of interest:
Among present day Scandinavians Hg I constitutes <2% [55], [56], however, we
have previously observed a markedly higher frequency (10?20%) of Hg I in Danish
Iron Age and Viking Age population samples (Table S3) [16], [21].
What happened to mtI in Scandinavia since the Iron Age.
Did they die out or permutate?
What implications do these findings have for elsewhere?
5. Roman Britain: Immigrants came from
all over?
An investigation into origins of individuals from a mass grave in Roman
Gloucester, UK: strontium and stable isotope evidence
http://dienekes.blogspot.com/
Carolyn Chenery1,2, Gundula M?dner1, Jane Evans2, Louise Loe3, Nicholas
M?quez Grant3, Hella Eckardt1 Stephanie Leach1, Mary Lewis1
Contrary to popular assumptions, Britain under Rome was truly multi-cultural,
with historical and epigraphic evidence recording the voluntary and forced
migration of Gaulish, Germanic and North African individuals into the British
provinces refs. This paper presents the results an isotopic investigation of
population diversity in 1st to the 4th century Roman Gloucester; focusing on
individuals found in a late 2nd century mass burial pit and comparing them to
those found in single graves.
The results suggest that the majority of the individuals buried in the London
Road Cemetery were from areas within the UK. However, the isotope data has
identified a number of individuals whose origins lay in a region with a warmer
climate than the UK. Whether these were soldiers, their followers or merchants
cannot be determined.
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