Founding Fathers: New genetic evidence turns british origins upside down.

Antlers and bones were used as tools by the first people to inhabit the
area we now know as Britain.  Pictured above is a plough horn used in
Cucuteni agriculture.(Photo by Cristian Chirita)

Genetic evidence reveals that most British men are not descended from immigrant farmers contrary to previous research.

Instead, scientists from the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh say that most European men can trace their lineage to people - most likely hunter-gatherers - who had settled in Europe long before that time.

The latest study, based on the most common genetic lineage in European males, aims to correct an analysis of genetic data, published last year.

It had reported that most British men came from people who migrated west around 5,000-10,000 years ago with the spread of agriculture, from the Near East.




Genetic Evidence

More than 100 million European men have a set of genes called R-M269, including about three-quarters of British men.

An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels,
and polishing tools.  Neolithic stone implements are by defintion
polished and except for specialty items not chipped.
(Photo by Michael Greenhalgh-http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raider5/greece
/thessaloniki/museums/archaeological/neolithic/)

A key question in understanding the peopling of Europe is when this group spread out across Europe.
Researchers say their work shows that the set of genes chosen to estimate the age of this group of men vary the outcome enormously.

They add that the previously reported east-west pattern is not found in their larger and more comprehensive dataset.

This, the Oxford - Edinburgh team says, leaves little evidence for a farmer-led dispersal of this major group.

According to Dr Cristian Capelli, the Oxford geneticist who led the research, the study “resets” the debate on the peopling of Europe.

He said that the work overturns the recent claims of European Y chromosomes being brought into the continent by farmers.

Co-author, Dr Jim Wilson of the University’s Centre for Population Health Sciences, adds that the paper shows for the first time that certain properties of the genes studied strongly influence the accuracy of the date estimate.

Estimating a date at which an ancestral lineage originated is an interesting application of genetics, but unfortunately it is beset with difficulties and it is very difficult to provide good dates. Many people assume that the more genes the more accurate the dates, but this is not the case: some genetic markers are more suited to dating than others.

Dr Jim Wilson

Centre for Population Health Sciences

The study also reports multiple subgroups of the R-M269 group that are very common in different parts of Europe, consistent with expansion of these different groups in each place.

The peopling of Europe and the cautionary tale of Y chromosome lineage R-M269 is published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences.

This story was a press release from the University of Edinburg.