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From: Shane <>
Subject: Re: Theories on Haplotypes for Franks , Vandals , Goths etc.
Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 09:25:46 -0500


James,

All the above. I think it would probably be wrong to believe there is one
haplogroup that's indicative of a Germanic tribal confederation. Just like
being Celtic, being Germanic was cultural. As an example: It would be hard
to imagine that the Hallstatt or Urnfield Celts of eastern Europe were all
R1b. DNA studies of eastern Europe indicate they were more likely to have
been something other that R1b. Yet today R1b is thought of as the "Celtic"
haplogroup. The only thing that R1b has to do with being "Celtic" is that it
was the predominant haplogroup in a place were Celtic culture survived the
longest. Consider the ancient Belgae. They straddled the Rhine--the
traditional border between the Celtic and Germanic worlds of Roman time.
Caesar made it clear they spoke a language different from Celtic, yet they
weren't considered Germanic either. They were a hybrid of both cultures. The
Belgae are a good example of the sort of genetic mixing that probably
occurred for thousands of years among all the peoples of Europe. It would
certainly make it easier for us if there were such clear distinctions, but
that doesn't seem to be the case. Cultures are temporal events that over
take regions from time to time. Consider that most of the Frankish
population were actually Gaulish. Same with the "Normans". Most of
Anglo-Saxon England was Celtic. Perhaps in time we will begin to see certain
haplotypes that are more common than others within a specific region, I
think that is already happening, but to believe there is one haplogroup that
identifies a people is a generalization.

Shane

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