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5,000 year old DNA reveals the surprising origins of the Irish
Irish Central ^ | March 31, 2017 | Sandie Angulo Chen

Posted on 11/23/2017 6:14:32 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

With a vial of saliva and a little cutting-edge science, AncestryDNA can tell you if you’ve got any Irish heritage in your genes. And with a lot of cutting-edge science, researchers in December 2015 published a study telling the world where that Irish heritage first originated.

By studying the 5,000-year-old remains of a female farmer buried near Belfast, Ireland, and the remains of three men buried 3,000 and 4,000 years ago on Rathlin Island in County Antrim, archaeologists and geneticists now say they now know where the modern Irish people originally came from.

The remains of the Stone Age female farmer show that she resembled modern people from Spain and Sardinia, suggesting she had roots there. But her ancestors ultimately originated from the Fertile Crescent, the once-lush region of the Middle East where humans first practiced agriculture. Those migrants brought cattle, cereals, and ceramics, along with black hair and brown eyes.

The remains of the Bronze Age male farmers show a different group of migrants entering Ireland one to two thousand years later. Those farmers came from the Pontic steppe of southern Russia. They brought metalworking culture, the genetic disposition for blue eyes, and the gene for a blood disorder so often found in Ireland that it’s known as the Celtic disease: haemochromatosis.

Using a technique called whole-genome analysis, scientists at Trinity College Dublin studied the DNA from all four bodies to establish a history of ancestral migration and settlement.

“There was a great wave of genome change that swept into [Bronze Age] Europe from above the Black Sea … we now know it washed all the way to the shores of its most westerly island,” geneticist and lead researcher Dan Bradley told the BBC.

The research shows that cultural changes in the ancient British Isles, such as the introduction of agriculture and metalworking, likely arrived because of large-scale migrations rather than the adoption of new ways by indigenous people.

DNA research isn’t just for looking back thousands of years. With AncestryDNA, you can discover whether your grandparents or great-grandparents really did hail from Ireland or any one of 26 distinct ethnic populations. AncestryDNA can also be an invaluable tool in genealogical research by matching up your DNA with relatives you might never have known and by identifying common forebears you may never have heard of.

From there, the 16 billion historical records on Ancestry can help you search forwards or backward in time to fill in your family tree — wherever that tree first took root.


TOPICS: History; Science
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; ancientnavigation; fartyshadesofgreen; genealogy; genetics; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; ireland; irish
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

FTA: ....surprising origins of the Irish.
They came from Leprechauns.
Where they came from I am not sure.


21 posted on 11/23/2017 6:57:34 PM PST by minnesota_bound
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To: Jonty30

They are not exactly the same as modern Irish but Highland Scots did come from Ireland.

Irish tend to be handsomer, Scots tend to be smarter.


22 posted on 11/23/2017 6:57:57 PM PST by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: tbw2

Russians wearing plaid?


23 posted on 11/23/2017 6:59:23 PM PST by Bodleian_Girl (Please see my profile to find out why the Birmingham News is trying to destroy Judge Roy Moore)
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To: Aliska

My grandfather was Northern Irish and looked very much like an Irishman. I have the so called Celtic disease, easily managed by donating blood three times a year.
Also Swede, Scot and Welsh mixed in for good measure.


24 posted on 11/23/2017 6:59:59 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They are basing these ideas of broad migrations and immigration on a sample size of four. I’d be more convinced by oh 400, maybe.


25 posted on 11/23/2017 7:00:28 PM PST by DBrow
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Its simple evolution. God made man, man made whiskey, whiskey made the Irish. Where can I get my $200 million government grant?


26 posted on 11/23/2017 7:03:00 PM PST by GunHoardingCapitalist (The dumber society becomes, the wiser i am in their eyes.)
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To: Az Joe

It’s like that Irish Blessing.

“May the road rise up to meet you
And then me boot will rise up to meet your arse.”


27 posted on 11/23/2017 7:03:33 PM PST by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: exDemMom
Try downloading your dna file and uploading (don't unzip) to Gedmatch There are a lot more tools to work with there. Ancestry told me no as well.
28 posted on 11/23/2017 7:03:56 PM PST by lil'bit
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To: exDemMom

Wow! Genetics are amazing...


29 posted on 11/23/2017 7:04:47 PM PST by Jan_Sobieski (Sanctification)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

That matches up well with the Milesian Legends, Iberia and then eventually Scythia.


30 posted on 11/23/2017 7:08:43 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I sent my DNA to get tested and I tell you, if it comes back even .003% African, then yo, I want my affirmative actions, my reparations and I aint taking no mo` sh*t from the MAN! And yo, y’all better not do any of that cultural appropriation of my peeps!


31 posted on 11/23/2017 7:09:54 PM PST by GrandJediMasterYoda (Trump: Greatest POTUS of all time solely for preventing Satan from taking office.)
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To: Az Joe

My Irish brother in law said God created liquor so the Irish wouldn’t rule the world!


32 posted on 11/23/2017 7:09:57 PM PST by jdsteel (Give me freedom not more government)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
5,000 year old DNA reveals the surprising origins of the Irish.

I was trying a way to break this to everyone gently but now that this story is out, the Irish are responsible for everything good. And anything bad the blame goes to Guinness.

33 posted on 11/23/2017 7:21:03 PM PST by gunsequalfreedom
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To: Az Joe
Not true at all. The Irish are direct descendants of the Gods. That’s why they drink so much of the God’s nectar, beer.

God made whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world   ;-)

34 posted on 11/23/2017 7:23:42 PM PST by tomkat
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
I've got some surnames that could be Irish like Harper but presume Scots-Irish or just Scots. That's interesting about that disease and how you manage it. Surely you have some from the Continent?

DNA requires some faith to believe 100% but it's being so widely accepted in legal disputes. I think there have been some errors though.

35 posted on 11/23/2017 7:24:07 PM PST by Aliska
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To: Bodleian_Girl

A meeting of civilisations: The mystery of China’s celtic mummies
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-meeting-of-civilisations-the-mystery-of-chinas-celtic-mummies-5330366.html


36 posted on 11/23/2017 7:27:28 PM PST by tbw2
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To: jdsteel

#32 .. Dang, shoulda known . . . lol !


37 posted on 11/23/2017 7:27:50 PM PST by tomkat
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To: tbw2

Thank you.

Fascinating.


38 posted on 11/23/2017 7:29:21 PM PST by Bodleian_Girl (Please see my profile to find out why the Birmingham News is trying to destroy Judge Roy Moore)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; All
Is AncestryDNA trustworthy, and how expensive is it? Thanks Katy
39 posted on 11/23/2017 7:32:45 PM PST by patriot08 (5th generation Texan-(girl type) We won! Ok, Donald, let's ROLL!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ancestry has been so successful with this fake product that the real DNA companies (23 and Me, FTDNA) are copying it.

At least 23 and Me will let you set the probability levels. The standard product is 50% level of confidence. Dial it up to 80% and most of the 1-5% “matches” go away.


40 posted on 11/23/2017 7:35:03 PM PST by Jim Noble (Single payer is coming. Which kind do you like)
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