Posted on 06/22/2004 9:49:06 AM PDT by blam
Genghis Khan: Father to Millions?
By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040621/gallery/genghis_goto.jpg>
Statue of the Mongol Emperor
June 22, 2004 Genghis Khan left a legacy shared by 16 million people alive today, according to a book by a Oxford geneticist who identified the Mongol emperor as the most successful alpha male in human history.
Regarded by the Mongolians as the father of their nation, Genghis Khan was born around 1162. A military and political genius, he united the tribes of Mongolia and conquered half of the known world with a cavalry riding on grass-fed ponies.
By the time Genghis died in 1227, his empire stretched from the Pacific coast of China to the Caspian Sea.
Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University and author of "Adam's Curse," a study of the Y chromosome, believes Genghis's "super Y" chromosome survived and proliferated as far as the British Isles. He has just begun to check it at Oxford Ancestors, a leading provider of DNA-based services for use in personal ancestry research.
"We will offer British men genetic tests to see if they are Genghis's descendants. It is possible that the Mongol emperor's Y chromosome spread as far as the U.K. through gradual immigration from further East over the centuries," Sykes told Discovery News.
The genetic testing follows another Oxford study, which involved a survey of the Y chromosome which is passed unchanged from father to son from all over Central Asia.
The researchers found one Y chromosome fingerprint that was identical in eight percent of the male population.
"This was highly unusual and suggested that they may all have descended from one man living in the fairly recent past. By seeing what small changes had occurred, it was possible to estimate the time at which this common ancestor lived, and it was consistent with an origin in the 12th or 13th century," Sykes said.
Matching that evidence with the overlap between where the chromosome was abundant and the geographical extent of the Mongol empire established by Genghis Khan in the 12th century, the researchers concluded it was Genghis' chromosome.
The Mongol emperor's habit of killing the men and inseminating the women when his army conquered a new territory, coupled with handing the Empire and other wealth to his sons, and their sons, would explain how the chromosome came to such prevalence today, said Sykes.
The final piece of evidence came from the Hazara, a hill tribe in Pakistan who had a strong oral history of being descended from Genghis Khan.
"The Y chromosome was present in the Hazara, but not in the surrounding tribes, who did not have this oral history. Though the evidence is circumstantial, it is, I believe, very strong," Sykes said.
Finding Genghis Khan's tomb, one of the great secrets of all time, could provide the definitive evidence, leading to a direct comparison of Genghis' Y chromosome with those of modern men.
Sykes' hypothesis seems to be consistent with history, according to David Morgan, a Mongol history specialist at the University of Wisconsin.
"There's no reason to doubt that Genghis Khan fathered a good crop of children, if one is to believe the testimony of contemporaries," Morgan told Discovery News.
Everyone but Kravitz thinks he is full of crap.
My sister thinks it is President Bush.
Are you saying that your sister thinks that President Bush is Genghis Khan?
I wasn't jumping on him, I was correcting him. That's why I didn't scream at him and say something rude, or call in the moderators.
Don't know... I do know she wants to see Fahrenheit 911. She was locked up with snobby American students in Japan, and came back a real liberal. I should have her kidnapped and deprogrammed.
"He personally abolished the use of torture."
Somehow I find this hard to believe.
Ha ha. I spoke to my sister last night. She's down on Bush as well. I use lot's of diplomacy with her, because it's mainly her liberal husband and friends twisting her mind.
You are a great conservative. I'm sure that you will be
succesful in helping your sister out. Good luck. : )
(p.s. I love your profile page on FR! God bless.)
Thanks :) Oh yeah one good thing... she's voting for Nader *lol*
There is a new book out on the biography of Genghis Khan. He did ban the use of torture. He killed his enemies, he didn't torure them.
Unfortunately, some of his successors re-adopted this vicious practise.
Actually it was a great book. I can't remember the name of the author, but I pulled it out of the New Book section of my library last month.
Genghis Khan was a great man. He knew the secret of fighting and winning wars - kill you enemies as quickly and thoroughly as possible and always do the unexpected and attack from where least anticipated.
We need him in Iraq and Iran.
LOL!!
Good input, thanks.
from Encarta; mon·gol·oid
adjective
a former term meaning affected by Down syndrome, now considered taboo
Yeah Encarta, taboo "this"
Any genetic legacy in the Clinton line will have that Webb Hubbell fish-mouth look about it. Bubba had the mumps and is supposedy an all juice, no seed kinda guy.
And FYI young lady I'm OFFENDED by all 'these people' with thin skin being OFFENDED over nothing. In fact I'm OFFENDED that you're offended over someones allegedly (in your opinion) offensive remark.
I'm sorry, but you have no idea what you're talking about. You may not find it offensive. That doesn't make it inoffensive.
Try looking at it from someone else's shoes. Sure, my little brother doesn't understand when people call him that, he's too young. But I understand, and I'll tell you what, the people who use the term bloody well know what it means.
adj.Of or relating to Down syndrome. Not in technical use.
n. A person affected with Down syndrome. No longer in technical use. Now considered offensive.
Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
1. The term, for those to whom it applies and to those who love them, is offensive. It is not unlike the "n-word."
2. Jen is indeed a young lady. She is also one of the brightest and best conservative minds out there.
I simply used the medical dictionary. Sorry if that offended you.
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