Posted on 12/03/2007 5:04:31 AM PST by blam
Proof of Liverpool's Viking past
James Randerson, science correspondent
Monday December 3, 2007
The Guardian (UK)
The region around Liverpool was once a major Viking settlement, according to a genetic study of men living in the area. The research tapped into this Viking ancestry by focusing on people whose surnames were recorded in the area before its population underwent a huge expansion during the industrial revolution. Among men with these "original" surnames, 50% have Norse ancestry.
The find backs up historical evidence from place names and archaeological finds of Viking treasure which suggests significant numbers of Norwegian Vikings settled in the north-west in the 10th century. "[The genetics] is very exciting because it ties in with the other evidence from the area," said Professor Stephen Harding at the University of Nottingham, who carried out the work with a team at the University of Leicester led by Professor Mark Jobling.
They used historical documents, including a tax register from the time of Henry VIII, to identify surnames common in the region. They then recruited 77 male volunteers with "original" surnames, and looked for a genetic signature of Viking ancestry on the Y chromosome. They report in Molecular Biology and Evolution that a Y chromosome type, R1a, common in Norway, is also very common among men with original surnames.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Thanks to Renfield for the article.
Yes, I can see that........
Basically this is a biological confirmation of what has long been known from linguistics (the regional vocabulary based an Scandinavian origins), and from history (the Viking invasions, and the Danelaw of Northern England).
Any of the Beatles authentic Liverpudlians?
We stayed in “Larg”, a small tourist town (on the seacoast at the end of the rail line) in the Strathclyde area (over the border in Scotland, well North of Liverpool) and in the town square was a statue of a Viking. To me, this was strong evidence that it was originally a Viking town.
Why would the victims of their murder and pillage put up a statue to them? Viking settlers put up the statue.
The name itself - “Larg” - sounds a lot more Norwegian than it does Scottish.
I was told once that Icelanders have more in common with the Celts than the Norse—apparently a lot of the early settlers were from the Hebrides or nearby areas, either bringing Hebridean or Irish women along as slaves/concubines, or being themselves born of local women to Viking men. Of course the Icelandic language is derived from Old Norse. It may be that the Icelandic Y-chromosomes are Scandinavian but the mitochondrial DNA may be more Celtic. Whatever “Celtic” means.
And the Swedes were turning the Russians into Slavs.
That’s what I want to see too — a list of the original surnames. I bet they all end in ‘vik.’
We stayed on the eastern side of England, almost at the Scottish border. Our B&B host looked EXACTLY like my Norwegian grandfather. I know the Vikings landed there.
Ice Age Refuges, 12,000 Years Ago.
The ‘Celtic’ yDNA is likely to be R1b and the mtDNA is ‘H’...maybe ‘U5a’. 90% of the Irish have R1b yDNA.
|
|||
Gods |
Thanks Blam. I'll bet those bloody vikings used to beat the heck out of that fairy 'cross the Mersey. |
||
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
I heard they also found thousands of empty Spam cans that dated back to the time of the Vikings.
I'm not sure what you mean. Let's assume your name is Smith, do a google search using this: Smith Family DNA Project. You get lots of Smith 'stuff.'
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.