Ice Age Refuges - 18,000 Year Ago
Migrations From Ice Age Refuges - 12,000 Years Ago
The direct male-line ancestors of the main related groups in our study ("GROUP 1" and "GROUP 2") were western Europeans, probably English of Celtic origin (Anglo-Celts).
So far, there is no genetic evidence that any of the participants have Native American ancestors in their direct male line. Note: this does not eliminate the possibility of Native American ancestors in another line, just not the direct male line.
Y-DNA HAPLOGROUPS
Genetic scientists have collected DNA samples from all over the world in order to study how human populations migrated out of Africa and into Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. Based on these studies, the scientists have categorized Y-DNA into large families called "haplogroups." It is possible to predict the Y-DNA haplogroup from the results of a 12-marker or 25-marker Y-DNA test, although a separate test, called a "SNP" (single nucleotide polymorphism) test, is sometimes needed for confirmation. The three most common haplogroups in the British Isles are R1b1, I, and R1a. A fourth haplogroup, E3b, occasionally shows up in Britain although it is more common in southern Europe.
Terminology: In early genetic studies (prior to 2003), Haplgroups R1b1, I, and R1a were called as Hg1, Hg2, and Hg3, respectively. Until recently, R1b1 was known as R1b. And just to complicate matters, some popular books on genetic anthropology ignore or gloss over the scientific terminology. Bryan Sykes, author of the best-sellers "Seven Daughters of Eve" and "Saxons, Vikings, and Celts," uses his own, idiosyncratic naming system -- for example, he calls haplogroup R1b "the clan of Oisin," for no particular reason.
Haplogroup R1b1 (the Western Europeans)
Most of the participants in the Cheek DNA study, including everyone in the main related groups (what we're calling "GROUP 1" and "GROUP 2"), fall into Haplogroup R1b1 (formerly known as R1b), which is the most common Y-DNA haplogroup in western Europe. Two participants from GROUP 1 have confirmed this result with an SNP test. The frequency of R1b1 is highest along the Atlantic coast of Europe (up to 90% of Welsh, Irish, and Basque populations, for example), and declines as you move east. Haplogroup R1b1 probably originated in a group of people who "wintered" in what is now Spain during the last Ice Age and then moved north when the glaciers retreated 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
A subset of the R1b1 haplogroup known as the "Atlantic Modal Haplotype" (AMH) consists of 6 genetic markers that have been found at high frequencies on the European Atlantic coast, such as Wales, Ireland, the Orkney Islands, the Dutch province of Friesland, and the Basque country in northern Spain. In the British Isles, the AMH is associated with the Celts, including English people with Celtic ancestry ("Anglo-Celts"), as well as the Welsh and Irish.
Over the past 10,000 years, the British Isles have been home to a wide variety of people. Prehistoric tribes, Celts, Germanic tribes such as the Angles and Saxons, Vikings from Scandinavia, and, most recently, the Normans from France (who were basically French-speaking Vikings), all settled in Britain, either peacefully or otherwise. Although historians have usually assumed that the "ancient Britons" (Celts and others) were wiped out by the Anglo-Saxon invasions, or were all pushed into Scotland, Wales, and Cornwall, recent genetic studies show that descendants of the original native population survived in many parts of England, especially in the southwest and along the southern coast.
In our study, the main related group, or "GROUP 1," matches the AMH on 5 out of 6 markers, and has a 2-step mutation on the remaining marker (a genetic distance of "2"). "GROUP 2" is also very close to the AMH, matching on 4 markers and having one-step mutations on 2 other markers (also a genetic distance of "2"). This is certainly consistent with the Cheeks being from southern England, where their surname seems to have originated. In fact, the Cheek/Chick surname was particularly common in the southwestern counties of Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, an area which has a long and colorful Celtic history.
Haplogroup I (the Vikings)
The second-most common haplogroup in England is Haplogroup I, sometimes called the "Viking haplogroup" because it is found in areas where the Vikings once lived, e.g., Scandinavia, the British Isles, and parts of central Europe. However, various subtypes of Haplogroup I are present in many other European countries. Haplogroup I probably goes back to a group of people who survived the last Ice Age in isolated pockets in south-central Europe and then moved north when the weather warmed.
Haplogroup R1a (the Eastern Europeans)
This haplogroup occurs throughout Europe, but its frequency declines as you move from east to west -- exactly the opposite of Haplogroup R1b. Haplogroup R1a is most common among the Slavic populations of eastern Europe, Russia, and the Ukraine. It is also found at high frequencies in central European countries such as Germany, as well as in western Asia, central Asia, and India. R1a is the third most common Y-DNA haplogroup in England, but it is found at significantly lower frequencies than either R1b1 or I. Haplogroup R1a was probably brought to England by Anglo-Saxons and Viking settlers.
Because of certain genetic similaries between R1a and R1b, it's believed that both lineages are descended from a common ancestral group of people who probably originated in the Middle East over 30,000 years ago. As these people slowly migrated into Europe and Asia, their populations diverged, with the ancestors of R1b traveling west and R1a's ancestors heading east. During the Ice Age the ancestors of R1b and R1a became isolated from each other at opposite ends of the European continent. The ancestors of R1b survived on the Iberian peninsula -- now Spain -- while the ancestors of R1a lived on the fertile steppes of what is now the Ukraine. Approximately 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, the ancestors of the R1a lineage began migrating westward into Europe. Their languages and to some extent, their cultures eventually came to dominate the European continent. Virtually all modern European languages -- everything from Greek to Irish -- are part of the Indo-European language family. A notable exception is the unique Basque language, believed to be the only surviving descendant of the lost languages spoken in western Europe before the arrival of the Indo-European tribes.
Haplogroup E3b (North Africans, Italians & Greeks)
The E3b haplogroup is common in Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Greece, and is also found at lower frequencies in northern and central Europe. The ancestors of the E3b haplogroup probably lived in the horn of Africa (present-day Somalia) during the last Ice Age and moved into Europe via the Middle East during the Neolithic migration around 9,000 years ago. Some believe that Roman settlers brought the E3b haplogroup to northern Europe, although it may have arrived far earlier, with Neolithic farmers, or later, with Medieval traders or other immigrants from the Mediterranean region. The frequency of E3b in England is between 0%-6% depending on the location. By contrast, E3b is present in about 25% of Silicians and Greeks, and 50%-80% of North Africans, especially in the ethnic group known as the Berbers.
So where did the Celts come from?
Historians long believed, based on linguistic and archeaological evidence, that the Celts are descended from a tribe of Indo-Europeans who settled in central Europe several thousand years ago. According to the traditional theory, the Celts began a period of expansion about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, and eventually conquered much of western Europe and the British Isles. What happened to the "native" western Europeans has been an enduring mystery. There are the Basques, of course. There are also stories about mysterious tribes still living in Britain at the time of the Romans. Julius Caesar, who led the Roman invasion of Britain in 55 B.C., wrote that the "interior portion of Britain is inhabited by those of whom they say it is handed down by tradition that they were born on the island itself; the maritime portion by those who passed over from the country of the Belgae [Belgium] for purpose of plunder and making war. . . and having waged war, continued there and began to cultivate the lands." (De Bello Gallico, Book 5, sec.12.) The Belgae were a Celtic people who were skilled in metal-working and agriculture; the native Britons, according to Caeser, "do not sow corn [wheat], but live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins." (Id., sec.14.)
Some time after the arrival of the Celts, the "native" Britons disappeared off the face of the earth. They left behind pottery, burial mounds, and some amazing archeaological relics like Stonehenge,* but little else -- or so it seemed. Genetic studies are now re-writing this history. Celtic people such as the Welsh and Irish speak Indo-European languages, yet their Y-DNA is similar to that of the Basques. In other words, the Welsh and Irish appear to be more closely related (by and large) to the non-Indo-European Basques than they are to Indo-European groups elsewhere in northern Europe, such as Germans and Scandinavians. Note, this does not mean that the Basques were direct ancestors of the Celts or visa versa. It simply suggests that the Basques and the Celts have a common origin dating back many thousands of years, before the arrival of Indo-European tribes. Only the Basques managed to keep their native (non-Indo-European) language alive to the present day. In the British Isles and elsewhere, the people lost their original languages, probably as a result of trade, military conquest, and intermarriage with Indo-Europeans. Eventually, and somewhat confusingly, both the people on the continent and the people in the British Isles became known as "Celtic," because of their common languages and other cultural features. These geographically separate groups of "Celts" may have had quite different historical origins. In other words, some aspects of "Celtic" culture, such as language and technology, may have spread to people living in other geographic areas because of cultural diffusion, not because of military invasion leading to total population replacement. (It is important to remember that biological descent is not the same as cultural inheritance or heritage!)
Ice Age Refuges - 18,000 Year Ago
Migrations From Ice Age Refuges - 12,000 Years Ago
There's that Spanish connection again, tying in with the legendary "Milesia." The tough thing with early surnames is that there is a strong element of "fashion" to it. How mine, purportedly originating with O'Tuathail, ended up three centuries later all Frenchified as "de Tottehille" has got to be due to the Norman influence. I'm sure many things English are a similar mish-mash.
There's that Spanish connection again, tying in with the legendary "Milesia." The tough thing with early surnames is that there is a strong element of "fashion" to it. How mine, purportedly originating with O'Tuathail, ended up three centuries later all Frenchified as "de Tottehille" has got to be due to the Norman influence. I'm sure many things English are a similar mish-mash.
There's that Spanish connection again, tying in with the legendary "Milesia." The tough thing with early surnames is that there is a strong element of "fashion" to it. How mine, purportedly originating with O'Tuathail, ended up three centuries later all Frenchified as "de Tottehille" has got to be due to the Norman influence. I'm sure many things English are a similar mish-mash.
There's that Spanish connection again, tying in with the legendary "Milesia." The tough thing with early surnames is that there is a strong element of "fashion" to it. How mine, purportedly originating with O'Tuathail, ended up three centuries later all Frenchified as "de Tottehille" has got to be due to the Norman influence. I'm sure many things English are a similar mish-mash.