Early Medieval Population History of the Rhineland
The Rhineland at the Edge of Empire The Rhineland in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages was a borderland, and borderlands are rarely quiet. For centuries the Roman world shaped life here, building roads, forts, and a frontier along the Rhine. The river was a stage on which soldiers,
Tracing the spread of Germanic languages using ancient genomics
Ancient DNA and the Archaeology of the Dead The story begins not with kings, but with bones on trays and teeth in labelled tubes. Across northern and western Europe, the search for the origins of Germanic speech drew strength from graves, bogs, barrows, and battle deposits — an immense gathering of
Ancient Iranian mtDNA and skeletal identification
Elam in the Lowlands of Khuzestan In southwestern Iran, on the hot plains of Khuzestan, one of the oldest great civilizations of the ancient Near East once thrived: Elam. Though often overshadowed by Mesopotamia, Elam commanded trade routes, labour, and ideas across the Iranian Plateau. Its territory stretched from KhuzestanLatest Articles
Ancient DNA reveals leprosy and long-distance migration in early medieval Germany
The marshland world of Fallward On the wet coastal edge of northwestern Germany, a community built its settlement on an artificial mound rising above the tidal marshes of the Elbe-Weser triangle. The surrounding wetlands offered fertile soil and grazing, but also flooding and danger. The solution was ingenious: raise the
Haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e
The difficulty with Y-DNA haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e is not that it lacks historical interest. It is that the evidence we would need to tell its story properly is unusually thin in the material attached here. There are no ancient sample entries provided to anchor the branch in one excavated grave, cemetery,
Haplogroup D1b2b
At Funadomari on Rebun Island, off the northern tip of Hokkaido, one ancient man has become unexpectedly important for the history of a rare paternal line. The sample known as Funadomari5, dated here to around 610 BC and identified as Jomon, places haplogroup D1b2b in a very specific archaeological setting:
Haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1
One of the few ancient signposts for the Y-DNA haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1 comes from Bronze Age Scotland: sample I2653, dated to around 1450 BC. That is already enough to make the find interesting. We are not looking at a medieval surname world, nor at a later clan society, but at a
Haplogroup H1a2a
One of the few ancient signposts for H1a2a comes from Iron Age northern Iberia: sample I2469, dated to around 875 BC and associated with El Sotillo in the Basque Country. That is already enough to make the find interesting. A lineage that today sits inside the wider Y-chromosome haplogroup H
Haplogroup B2b
At Shum Laka in western Cameroon, one ancient male identified as I10873, dated to around 1200 BC, has become an important point of reference for the Y-DNA haplogroup B2b. The site is famous well beyond genetics: it is a rock shelter with a long archaeological sequence, and it has figured
Haplogroup C2a1a1
One of the clearest ancient signposts for Y-DNA haplogroup C2a1a1 in this material is sample GG3, dated to around 460 AD and described as an individual from the ancient nomadic Mongolian steppes. That is already enough to make the case historically interesting. We are not looking at a sedentary farmingCivilizations
Belgae Discussion
Dedicated for all DNA, Analysis Results, History, Research topics related to: Belgae The ethnic name Belgae comes from the Proto-Celtic word Bolgi which means "The People who Swell with anger or battle fury". These Celtic people lived north of the Gauls and Aquitani and differed by language, customs
Visigoths Discussion
Dedicated for all DNA, Analysis Results, History, Research topics related to: Visigoths The Visigoths emerged from earlier Germanic Gothic groups (possibly the Thervingi) who had invaded the Roman Empire beginning in 376 and had defeated the Romans at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Relations between the Romans and the
Scythians Discussion
Dedicated for all DNA, Analysis Results, History, Research topics related to: Scythians Scythians had a reputation as the epitome of savagery and barbarism - they were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. They lived in tent-covered wagons and fought with composite bows shot from horseback. With great mobility,
Ostrogoths Discussion
Dedicated for all DNA, Analysis Results, History, Research topics related to: Ostrogoths Originating from Scandinavia, the Goths of Eastern Europe were shattered when Attila and the Huns blasted onto the scene. The Gothic kingdom was split - those who crossed the Danube to enter the Roman Empire became the Visigoths.Haplogroups and Noble Lines
Haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e
The difficulty with Y-DNA haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e is not that it lacks historical interest. It is that the evidence we would need to tell its story properly is unusually thin in the material attached here. There are no ancient sample entries provided to anchor the branch in one excavated grave, cemetery,
Haplogroup D1b2b
At Funadomari on Rebun Island, off the northern tip of Hokkaido, one ancient man has become unexpectedly important for the history of a rare paternal line. The sample known as Funadomari5, dated here to around 610 BC and identified as Jomon, places haplogroup D1b2b in a very specific archaeological setting:
Haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1
One of the few ancient signposts for the Y-DNA haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1 comes from Bronze Age Scotland: sample I2653, dated to around 1450 BC. That is already enough to make the find interesting. We are not looking at a medieval surname world, nor at a later clan society, but at a
Latest Articles
Ancient DNA reveals leprosy and long-distance migration in early medieval Germany
The marshland world of Fallward On the wet coastal edge of northwestern Germany, a community built its settlement on an artificial mound rising above the tidal marshes of the Elbe-Weser triangle. The surrounding wetlands offered fertile soil and grazing, but also flooding and danger. The solution was ingenious: raise the
Haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e
The difficulty with Y-DNA haplogroup O2a1b1a1a1a1e is not that it lacks historical interest. It is that the evidence we would need to tell its story properly is unusually thin in the material attached here. There are no ancient sample entries provided to anchor the branch in one excavated grave, cemetery,
Haplogroup D1b2b
At Funadomari on Rebun Island, off the northern tip of Hokkaido, one ancient man has become unexpectedly important for the history of a rare paternal line. The sample known as Funadomari5, dated here to around 610 BC and identified as Jomon, places haplogroup D1b2b in a very specific archaeological setting:
Haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1
One of the few ancient signposts for the Y-DNA haplogroup R1b1a1a2a1a2c1e2b3a1 comes from Bronze Age Scotland: sample I2653, dated to around 1450 BC. That is already enough to make the find interesting. We are not looking at a medieval surname world, nor at a later clan society, but at a
Haplogroup H1a2a
One of the few ancient signposts for H1a2a comes from Iron Age northern Iberia: sample I2469, dated to around 875 BC and associated with El Sotillo in the Basque Country. That is already enough to make the find interesting. A lineage that today sits inside the wider Y-chromosome haplogroup H
Haplogroup B2b
At Shum Laka in western Cameroon, one ancient male identified as I10873, dated to around 1200 BC, has become an important point of reference for the Y-DNA haplogroup B2b. The site is famous well beyond genetics: it is a rock shelter with a long archaeological sequence, and it has figured
