Scientists analyzed the ancient genes of skeletons belonging to some of Iceland's first settlers, like this one discovered in a grave near the island's northern coast. [Ivar Brynjolfsson/The National Museum of Iceland]
Posted on 06/04/2018 2:43:20 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
If modern Icelanders came face-to-face with their founding fathers, they'd be hard-pressed to see much family resemblance, according to a new study. That's because today's Icelanders have a much higher proportion of Scandinavian genes than their distant ancestors did, suggesting the islanders underwent a remarkably rapid genetic shift over the past thousand years... Medieval histories suggest Iceland was first settled between 870 C.E. and 930 C.E. by seafaring Vikings and the people they enslaved, who possessed a mélange of genes from what is now Norway and the British Isles. For the next thousand years, the population of Iceland remained relatively small and isolated, hovering between about 10,000 and 50,000. Impeccable genealogical records and broad genetic sampling have made Icelanders -- who now number 330,000 -- a model population for geneticists hoping to connect the dots between gene variants and traits. Looking to build on the previous research, a team led by geneticist S. Sunna Ebenesersdóttir, of the University of Iceland and the biopharmaceutical company deCODE Genetics, both in Reykjavik, analyzed the whole genomes of 27 ancient Icelanders whose skeletal remains were found in burial sites across the island... Sequencing revealed that the settlers had a roughly even split of Norse (from what are today Norway and Sweden) and Gaelic (from what are now Ireland and Scotland) ancestry... contemporary Icelanders, on average, draw about 70% of their genes from Norse ancestry.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencemag.org ...
Scientists analyzed the ancient genes of skeletons belonging to some of Iceland's first settlers, like this one discovered in a grave near the island's northern coast. [Ivar Brynjolfsson/The National Museum of Iceland]
A recent archaeological find in Iceland suggests that the country may have been inhabited as early as the year 800, or 74 years earlier than its official settlement date, Vísir reports. Four weeks of excavation in Stödvarfjördur, the East Fjords, under the direction of archaeologist Bjarni F. Einarsson, have revealed some of the most interesting signs of human presence found in the country. They suggest a longhouse was built there shortly after 800, but until now, Iceland's first permanent Nordic settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, is said to have arrived in 874. "The C-14 dating method shows a date shortly after the year 800," Bjarni explained. "I have no reason to doubt that analysis." ...Several noteworthy tiny items have been found, such as a sharpener, pearls and washers. A ring and silver coin, discovered before the weekend, have been sent to the National Museum of Iceland for conservation. A chalcedony discovered at the site proves that the people made utensils out of stone. [Major Archaeological Find in Iceland | Vala Hafstad | September 15, 2016]
A young woman now determined to have been one of Iceland's earliest settlers was found in 1938 in a grave with various Viking-era objects, including this pair of brooches. Iceland's "woman in blue," the partial skeleton of a young woman found in 1938 in a grave with Viking-era objects, was a child of some of the island's earliest settlers, researchers reported April 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Tooth development and wear suggest she was between 17 and 25 years old when she died. It's not known if the woman was a Viking or if she came from another northern European population, said bioarchaeologist Tina Jakob of Durham University in England. A chemical analysis of one of her teeth indicates that, between ages 5 and 10, she started eating a lot of fish and other seafood for the first time after having previously consumed mainly plants and land animals... [Viking-era woman sheds light on Iceland's earliest settlers | Bruce Bower | April 15, 2016]
FIFY
They took their Gaelic women with them to settle.
Buried with his sword. I really like that!
Valhalla, I am coming!!!
Subtext: climate change kills, and it’s not warming.
If true, this would put the birth year of the young woman around 1405.
Just as likely, the Icelandic could have made the change in diet much earlier despite having a less harsh climate than Greenland, they seemed far less dependent on a dairy cattle culture than their Greenland cousins from the get-go.
Or maybe those 27 individuals they used for a sample were not representative of the people who settled the place as a whole. Maybe that group came from the Viking settlements in Ireland, while others came from Norway during that period. Or maybe more Norse came over the centuries after Iceland was settled. The study’s conclusion makes an assumption that is only one possible answer.
“Welsh and Gaelic genetics being less cold tolerant”
What evidence is there of that?
One can argue that America has undergone an astonishing genetic shift since 1970 due to immigration.
Yeah. Invasions are like that.
“astonishing” isn’t exactly the word I’d choose, however
About 10,000 Somalis and Syrians would just about set things right. </s >
Just making a wild guess, it wouldn't be surprising if the onset of the Little Ice age led to the withdrawal from Greenland, with the Greenlanders disproportionately resettling in Iceland. The genetic falloff between 1000 year old DNA and current DNA is otherwise probably just due to an initial difference in reproductive rates, coupled with (heh) the usual randomness of what gets passed down. As I''ve pointed out numerous times, given that we have 23 chromosome pairs, two of our grandparents are shortchanged by at least one pair (12, 11, 11, 12 is an example of the maximum amount of even-ness; and NO, our chromosomes don't set around and play 'go fish' with our genes in order to make sure, via ESP, that we have exactly one quarter of each of our grandparents' genetic heritage). Skraelings keyword:
When you die first, we’re splitting up your gear. :)
LOL
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