Sunday, November 20, 2016

November-December issue of British Archaeology: The ancient British genome: writing new histories

The article begins on page 14. Most Barnes & Noble bookstores in USA carry the magazine. The article is not available online at this time.

The article reviews four studies with DNA results from 23 people: 4 Iron Age; 11 Roman and 8 Anglo Saxon - 12 men and 11 women. There are a number of charts in the article and details of each individual on pages 24-25.

http://new.archaeologyuk.org/british-archaeology-magazine

Edited to add the following:

Here are citations to three studies discussed in the British Archaeology article I posted about last nigh​t​ as well as citation​s​ to ​two other aDNA article​s​ mentioned but not discussed:

​​​Roman London​

Redfern, R.,​,​ Going south of the river: A multidisciplinary analysis of ancestry, mobility and diet in a population from Roman Southwark,London​, ​Journal of Archaeological Science​, Volume 74, October 2016, Pages 11–22, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440316301030
and
Museum of London Report on the DNA Analyses of Four Roman Individuals Supplementary Information,
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/application/files/3114/6598/9153/McMaster_Roman_DNA_Report.pdf

​Northern England​

Bradley, et al, Genomic signals of migration and continuity in Britain before the Anglo-Saxons, Nature Communications, Jan 2016, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10326,
http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10326
​and
Muldner, Gundula; Chenery, Carolyn; Eckardt, Hella. 2011, The ‘Headless Romans’ : multi-isotope investigations of an unusual burial ground from Roman Britain. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38 (2). 280-290. 10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.003​, paywall: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440310003134 (not discussed)

​Angle-Saxon​

Schiffels, S., et al, Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon genomes from East England reveal British migration history​, ​Nature Communications · January 2016 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10408 : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291328000

​Ireland (not discussed)

Neolithic and Bronze Age migration to Ireland and establishment of the insular Atlantic genome,
Lara M. Cassidya,1, Rui Martinianoa,1, Eileen M. Murphyb , Matthew D. Teasdalea , James Malloryb , Barrie Hartwellb , and Daniel G. Bradleya,2 a Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; and b School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland​,
http://www.pnas.org/content/113/2/368.full.pdf

The conclusion is that there is genetic continuity through the Roman period with two African and one Middle Eastern individuals as exceptions, and then a genetic change in the Anglo-Saxon era from ~400-900 A.D. 20% to 40% of modern British ancestry can be attributed to the Anglo-Saxons.

Any error in interpretation is mine.



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