He's a British Jew who says his name is derived from the town name of Oppenheim, Germany.
Posted on 09/28/2007 7:42:35 AM PDT by blam
Myths of British ancestry
October 2006
Stephen Oppenheimer
Everything you know about British and Irish ancestry is wrong. Our ancestors were Basques, not Celts. The Celts were not wiped out by the Anglo-Saxons, in fact neither had much impact on the genetic stock of these islands
The fact that the British and the Irish both live on islands gives them a misleading sense of security about their unique historical identities. But do we really know who we are, where we come from and what defines the nature of our genetic and cultural heritage? Who are and were the Scots, the Welsh, the Irish and the English? And did the English really crush a glorious Celtic heritage?
Everyone has heard of Celts, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. And most of us are familiar with the idea that the English are descended from Anglo-Saxons, who invaded eastern England after the Romans left, while most of the people in the rest of the British Isles derive from indigenous Celtic ancestors with a sprinkling of Viking blood around the fringes.
Yet there is no agreement among historians or archaeologists on the meaning of the words "Celtic" or "Anglo-Saxon." What is more, new evidence from genetic analysis (see note below) indicates that the Anglo-Saxons and Celts, to the extent that they can be defined genetically, were both small immigrant minorities. Neither group had much more impact on the British Isles gene pool than the Vikings, the Normans or, indeed, immigrants of the past 50 years.
The genetic evidence shows that three quarters of our ancestors came to this corner of Europe as hunter-gatherers, between 15,000 and 7,500 years ago, after the melting of the ice caps but before the land broke away from the mainland and divided into islands.
(Excerpt) Read more at prospect-magazine.co.uk ...
85% of the DNA of the original post Ice Age settlers to Britain is still there.
I am yDNA haplogroup R1b as are 90% of the Irish. I just discovered yesterday that if your DYS-390 component is 23 instead of 24...you're likely to be German-Scandanavian. I'm probably a Viking or Anglo-Saxon invader? Still an Atlantic Modal Haplotype I believe.
GGG Ping.
<>< Must read ><>
This sad little lizard told me that he was a brontosaurus on his mother’s side.
I did not laugh; people who boast of ancestry often have little else to sustain them.
Humoring them costs nothing and adds to happiness in a world in which happiness is always in short supply.
LAZARUS LONG
O’ppenheimer, a grand old Irish name!
Genetics tells one story. Language patterns tell a different story.
Oxford’s Bryan Sykes, who invented the genetic population testing method, has written some interesting books on this subject, too. In “Blood of the Isles,” he wrote that neither Anglo-Saxons nor other population groups have much impact on the genetics of the inhabitants of the UK, except for Iberians, and that British ancestry can be traced back mainly to Spain. Fascinating information. I heartily recommend his “The Seven Daughters of Eve.”
Well, at least they’re not claiming to be descendants of a full blooded Cherokee Indian princess...............
He's a British Jew who says his name is derived from the town name of Oppenheim, Germany.
It is? How much Anglo-Saxon is left after the French invaded in 1066? It is rare to find the raw guttural, monosyllabic, Germanic words in modern English. He who rules get to set the what language is spoken.
I have to say that language patterns, while useful and interesting to study, are in a certain sense subjective. And anyone can learn any language, regardless of their DNA. The blood evidence, uncovered by the scientific method, is irrefutable.
Well, Buaidh no bas, anyway!
Forgot to say: great post, blam.
Bump for a later read. Someday I hope to do the DNA te$ting...right now I can’t. My late father (1st generation Irish) always said we were ‘Black Irish’ (no...not the Spanish Aramada tale, just darker hair/skin than your idea of Irish). Thanks for the post.
I recommend Syke's newest book too: Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland . A very good book and easy to read. Oppenheimer's is the better of the two though.
I thought the Romans left about 430, and the Saxons invaded when the collpase of the Pax Romanae gave them the opportunity. The Angles were there already at the start of the Roman occupation. Did not a Roman say, upon seeing their complexion and hair color, "Not Angles, but Angels?"
I can't say for sure, but I've heard that Winston Churchill's soundbite "We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them in the fields, we shall fight them in the hills. We shall never surrender." Is composed 100% of words derived from Anglo-Saxon -- with one exception: surrender is derived from French.
Just finished that one a couple of months ago. All of his are excellent. For my birthday I am giving myself an analysis from his group at Oxford, figuring I can share it with my sister, at least! I will have to dip into Oppenheimer.
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