Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland |
Buy Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland here, one of 750 Iceland History books offered for sale at discount prices here in the history books section at R bookshop. There are currently 88153 history books in our history books section, and over 1,000,000 books listed in our book store. We greatly appreciate your patronage at R bookshop and look forward to offering you a large selection of great books at discount prices now and in the future. Thank you for shopping at R Bookshop!
|
You Are Here: Home > History Books > Iceland History > Item 169
|
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland
|
by Bryan Sykes
Sales Rank: 158439
|
List Price: $26.95
$17.79
At Amazon
on 9-16-2008.
|
|
|
|
Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 320 pages
Published by: W. W. NortonEdition: 1st Edition December 11, 2006
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0393062686
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0393062687
Book Dimensions:
9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
Weighs: 1.4 pounds
Reader Reviews
In Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, Bryan Sykes, professor of genetics at Oxford, describes his research and conclusions on the Genetic Atlas of Britain project. His goal was to develop a description of how the genetic background of the current populations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland differ from each other and how these differences might be traced to the various ethnic groups that settled the Isles: Celts, Picts, Romans, Saxons-Angles-Jutes, Vikings, Danes, and Normans. Background: Because a person's nuclear DNA is derived from both parents in equal parts, trying to track one's genetic heritage backward is complicated by the doubling of the number of ancestors each generation. Even the most recent arrivals considered in Sykes' study, the Normans, ca. 1066, go back about 1000 years, or forty generations. This gives us about 2-to-the-40th-power ancestors in that generation. That's a big number, roughly equal 10-to-the-12th-power, or about 100 times the current population of the entire Earth. This apparent conundrum reflects the fact that there must have been a large number of intermarriages among cousins of various degrees in the course of the forty generations, so that many of the names on our lists of 10-to-the-12th-power ancestors would likely be repeated several times over. The message here is that the genetic heritage of a specific individual (his nuclear DNA) really can't be tracked back far enough to reach any useful conclusions about the population of the Isles in 1066 or earlier. However, all is not lost. Methodology: To overcome this problem, Sykes uses two genetic markers that are passed on unchanged, except by rare genetic mutation. First, mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) is passed on to all offspring by their mother, unmodified by any contribution from the father. mDNA is not part of our genetic makeup that makes us individuals; it is located outside the cell nucleus and helps regulated metabolism in the cell. The rate of mDNA mutation very slow; about one mutation can be expected along each maternal line in 20,000 years. Second, the Y-chromosome is passed on from father to son, unmodified by any contribution from the mother. The rate of Y-chromosome mutation is about one change along each paternal line every 1500 years. Prior research by Sykes, and others, has shown that most people of northern European heritage belong to one of a small number of primary maternal lines and to one of an even smaller number of primary paternal lines. These lines are defined by the molecular patterns of their mDNA and Y-chromosomes. Furthermore, the mutation rates can be used to estimate the age of each primary line and the approximate times that subsequent mutations have occurred. Equipped with this knowledge, Sykes proceeded to collect DNA samples from a large number of current residents throughout the Isles, characterize the primary maternal and paternal lines, and examine any mutations to primary line patterns. He then compared the frequency with which primary lines occurred in different regions within the Isles and in locations which the migrating peoples came. Conclusions: Sykes reaches several interesting conclusions: 1. Throughout the Isles, the basic and dominant genetic heritage is Celtic. 2. The basic Celtic heritage is modified by contributions from the other ethnic groups. The contribution from these groups varies from essentially zero up to a maximum of about 30%. 3. The Picts were closely related to the Celts, perhaps indistinguishable so. 4. The largest non-Celtic contribution is found in the northern islands, the Orkneys and Shetlands, where the Viking contribution is about 30%. 5. The Celtic settlers appear to have migrated from the northwest area of the Iberian peninsula. 6. The maternal and paternal lines often differ. The maternal line is often more Celtic, suggesting that women were less mobile than men (e.g., Viking raiders). The paternal lines suggest a disproportionate genetic contribution by a relatively small number of men (presumably those in powerful positions - the "Genghis Khan effect"). 7. The maternal and paternal lines are fairly consistent in the Orkneys and Shetlands, suggesting that they were settled peacefully by Vikings who brought their wives with them. Reviewer's Comments: Sykes' methodology of following the unbroken paternal and maternal lines allows him to work around the problem presented by the mixing of nuclear DNA (other than the Y-chromosome) at each generation. This approach essentially extracts a sample of one male and one female ancestor from each generation. Keep in mind that the number of ancestors is 10-to-the-12th-power ancestors forty generations back and even more as you go back farther, so two ancestors is an exceedingly small sample of an individual's genetic heritage. Statistically, this is a valid approach when used to characterize the overall population because Sykes draws large samples from the current population. However, I caution against drawing any strong conclusions about one's personal genetic heritage based on that sample of two ancestors out of such a huge number. The book is a nice, light read. Sykes spends the first part of the book on the pre-history of Britain, both the geological history and the stone age migrations which were shaped by the geological and climatic changes. After setting the stage, he focuses on the methodology and results of his research. The last third of the book focuses on the history and genetic characteristics of the four main regions: Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.
Comments (5) | |
(Report this)
Back To Top
|
Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland
Available from Amazon
Price: $17.79
Updated on 9-16-2008.
|
NOTICE: All prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
| We offer Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland and other related Iceland History Books here at Rbookshop.com. To view more books about Iceland History please use the previous and next buttons near the top of this page.
|
|
Search for books at
