[pierrem15]

These skulls are often attributed to the Alans, an Indo-Aryan group of steppe nomads pushed into the Balkans by the Huns. 'Alan' is a variant of 'aryan.'

According to mtDNA analysis of my genes, I am apparently the descendant of some Alan women. Since both sides of my family are originally from Normandy and Brittany, I was wondering how this could be.

It turns out that Aetius ("Last of the Romans") settled a group of Alans in what is now southern Normandy as foederati to help him keep order in Armorica (Brittany).

Hi mom!

[SunkenCiv]

Could be, moving significant numbers of various ethnic groups was something the Romans did a lot; also, ultimately, survival of a given strand of chromosome is luck of the draw.

[albie]

Crap. My middle name is Alan.

[SunkenCiv]

The Alans