DNA Testing, Genealogy and European Ancestry: My Journey .

I have thought long about doing an in depth article about my study of family DNA/genealogy and have finally have begun collecting my thoughts. This article is centered on North Western European descent based on the study I have done of my own DNA and family but I hope the content can help anyone of any background with their search.

 

TERMINOLOGY:

Ancient Groups:

SHG (Scandinavian Hunter Gatherer)

WHG (Western Hunter Gatherer)

EEHG (Eastern European Hunter Gatherer)

EEF (Early European Farmer)

Sredny Stog: First horse domestication on the steppe (Pre Kurgan Period) Possibly earliest iteration of the IE.

Yamna (Proposed center of Indo European expansion)

WSH (Western Steppe Herder) (Indo European)

CHG (Caucasian Hunter Gatherer)

SGC (Single Grave Culture) 

BBTC (Bell Beaker Trade Complex)

CWC (Corded Ware Culture)

FBC (Funnel Beaker Culture)

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cMs, Chromosomes, SNPs and Distance

Chromosomes: The 23 human Chromosomes.

SNPs: SNPs are markers with the same alleles as a given sample. Larger SNP chains means higher mathematical likelihood of shared ancestry. SNP’s also determin Haplogroups.

cMs:  The measurement of distance between chromosomes and genetic closeness.

Distance: The distance between you and a sample (Lower number is a closer match)

Some websites use closeness instead of broken down percentages. GEDMATCH.COM and Mytrueancestry.com use closeness in some areas and percentages in others. Both use mixed population and single matching which can reveal very close results. Example being my own DNA matches Sweden on most models and has a low number (Very close) but if compared to samples from Scandinavia and Britain it drops to low 0 numbers meaning an identical admixture. GEDMATCH.com is great fore diagnostics like this.

 

HAPLOGROUPS:

These are descriptions but do not reflect all possible positions or distribution and does not account for all possible groups within Europe.

THE I GROUP:

IJK Group: Originating in Anatolia or Caucusus 45,000 years ago.

IJ (Caucuses/Iran)

I-M170 (I) (Originated in Europe, Possibly in Austria 31,000 to 34,000 years ago) Associated with the Gravettian culture. (I is considered an original Paleo European Haplogroup”

I2: Subclade of I-M170 ( WHG and SHG) Widespread across all of Europe and Scandinavia. Hunter Gatherer.

I1 Subclade of I-M170 starting in the Alps and then moving into Denmark/Scandinavia or possibly originating in what is now Hungary. It is the dominant paternal group of Nordic Europe. Possibly Associated with the FunnelBeaker Culture.  Funnelbeaker Culture was the result of an admixture of Incoming EEF people and indigenous Hunters. 

OTHER PALEO GROUPS IN EUROPE:

C (An ancient Haplogroup in Europe in the paleolithic)

K ( A paleolithic group in Europe descended from IJK)

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R Group:

R (NAHG) Contributed to Yamna.

R1A (North Eastern Europe/Scandinavia) Yamna origin.

R1B (Britain/West/Central/Northern Europe/Scandinavia) Yamna origin. (Dominant Western European group)

G2A (EEF and CHG?) Exists in all of Europe but mainly a Southern and South Eastern European group.

N-N1C (Urallic) (Finland/Estonia/Hungary/Eastern Europe, Steppes, North Asia, Asia)

Distribution map of Groups In Europe: (Wikipedia)

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Modern DNA and Autosomal results:

Many different companies offer Autosomal DNA testing and it can be quite accurate if you take the time read into the history of different populations and their migrations. Depending on the service your sample panel may be categorized differently and you may notice different results from different sites  like FTDNA, Ancestry, Gedmatch.com etc.

Example using my own DNA:

Ancestry.com lists my highest percentage genetic match as Anglo Saxon/North German/Danish as a region. FTDNA lists this same % as Scandinavian. To someone familiar with Germanic history this makes sense but could be confusing to see different results per site. Both Ancestry and FTDNA list my Continental German ancestry at the same %.

A good comparison of differences is on FTDNA I am listed at 41% Irish and Ancestry.com 3% Irish. This is not an inaccuracy as much as it is a different view of how to place the DNA on the chart. Given the continuity of DNA in the British Isles since the Chalcolithic Beaker Horizon it would be difficult to perfectly decipher between DNA in the Isles, Germany and Scandinavia. Ireland having a fairly high WSH admixture even before the Arrival of Celtic Speakers.

On independent sample analysis from various sites, any comparison of my DNA can come up  Germanic, Celtic and Baltic . My distance numbers are very low (Low is close) regardless if the Sample is Swedish, English, German, Irish etc.. My family has more Germanic ancestry historically but has significant Celtic genetic ancestry as well. . You can use services like GEDMATCH.com to do chromosome analysis, population comparisons etc. You can use Mytrueancestry.com to see your sample matching, chromosome chart by culture and see your actual ancient genetic relatives and analyze the genetic background of each sample. FTDNA provides  YDNA and MTDNA as well as Autosomal and Ancient group origin however the Ancient feature seems a bit hokey to me. One of the more interesting metrics with http://www.mytrueancestry.com is the distribution of Haplogroups across all ancient samples you match. These are organized in an easy to use format broken down into colored pie charts with samples listed as you highlight colors on the chart. Seeing how populations of people with different paternal lineage have effected your Autosomal DNA is very interesting but should be taken with a grain as Haplogroups do not infer Autosomal admixture. I was skeptical of My True Ancestry but with some analysis and comparison it has fairly accurately reflected my DNA that I can check against actual Family Records and other tests.  The service is however expensive, the upside being it is based on Ancient only so they focus well on that subject and constantly update results. They also compare you to well known DNA subjects which is quite fun to see if you match. Not yet mentioned is Myheritage.com whom I had analyze my Ancestry.com DNA raw data and got strangely simplified results. These results omitted almost all but 2 regions but  I did like the platform for seeing living genetic relatives by country. I have yet to use 23/me and will post an update if I do.

A few examples of my results from various sites:

Gedmatch.com: Sweden.

MytrueAncestry.com:  (Ancient) Viking Age Denmark.

Ancestry.com:  Germany, Scandinavia, British Isles and Baltic

FTDNA: Scandinavian-German, Irish and Baltic.

Myheritage.com: North Western Europe and Baltic.

MY DNA BROADLY: Closeness based DNA and Geneaology.

MY DNA ACCUTE: Closeness Based on DNA only.

I may update these or try to detail this better at a latter date.

MY Haplogroups:

FTDNA.com: YDNA I1a (Origin Sweden) (Anglo-Frisian branch of I1a) (Paleo European Haplogroup)

FTDNA.com: MTDNA H39a1(Origin Ireland/Britain) (H MTDNA origin is the Caucasus)

Northern Genetics and Ancient material cultures:

Cultures/Complexes of Central and Northern Europe during Yamna migration:

Corded Ware Culture (Battle Axe Culture Scandinavia) (North Eastern/Central Europe, The Alps) Arrived in Europe from the steppe. Yamna people mingled with existing Neolithic/Hunter peoples already established to create the CWC horizon.

Single Grave Culture (CWC branch) (North Sea Coast, Denmark)

Bell Beaker Complex (Western, Northern, Central Europe,Denmark, Britain Ireland) Genetically a descendant of the SGC.

Unetice (Central Europe)

Tumulus (Central Europe)

Urnfield (Proto Celtic? )(Used Hallstatt type Swords) Was bordering The Nordic Bronze Age horizon.

HallStatt (Celts) 

Le Tene (Celts)

Funnel Beaker (EEF-LBK/EEHG/WHG) CWC’s arrival in FBC areas may have led to the Protruding Foot Beaker culture which then became the Single Grave and perhaps finally Bell Beaker culture.

))))))THIS ABOVE LIST IS NOT EXAUSTIVE((((((

The development of the Germanic cultural branch of the Indo-Europeans or (Yamna) is subject to heavy debate. The Celtic expansion from the Hallstatt Culture is fairly well accepted and that it descended from earlier cultures like the Tumulus and Urnfield culture is plausible. The debate regarding Germanic expansion is more nebulous but now in modern times the picture is becoming clearer.  The Corded Ware culture is the debated dawn of elements associated with Germanic civilization although they are the forebears of the Celts as well. This culture crossed into north western Europe from the Western Steppe and arguably brought IE culture/Language into Northern Europe. The history of Scandinavia and Northern Europe belonged to the WHG and EEHG who had hunting cultures across all of Europe and combined to become the SHG in the Baltic and Scandinavia. The Kunda Culture is also a likely result of this union. The Mesolithic hunters were joined by the EEF (LBK) across Europe and the Hunter societies largely married into these new people because the Hunter YDNA eclipses the EEF YDNA in Northern Europe. Autosomal DNA remnants of these early Hunters/farmers can still be detected . A culture of people that combined the farming and hunting groups existed at the time of the Corded Ware arrival and we see a major genetic shift in Western Europe but the Haplogroup I1a in Scandinavia remained dominant while R1B and R1A began expanding. The I1a YDNA lines again seemed to marry into arriving R groups but then we see a leveling where R1A and R1B become large groups as well. The Autosomal DNA is derived in Scandinavia and Northern Europe from the Corded Ware culture with sometimes larger admixtures of Hunter Gatherers than in Southern Europe.  The Corded Ware were a late stone age/very early chalcolithic IE group also known as the Battle Axe Culture in Scandinavia due to the large amounts of Axe artifacts found in burials.  We see a new cultural branch begin out of the Corded Ware called the “Single Grave Culture” which rises out of Northern Germany and Denmark. This “Single Grave Culture” is believed to be the genetic ancestor of the Bell Beaker people but a certain amount of confusion had arisen because it was believed that R1A was the line associated with Corded Ware yet all Yamna burials are of R1B lineage. Most “Beaker Culture” was also R1B as well and seems to overtake all of western Europe yet no determined second wave from the Steppe is obvious. The DNA associated with the “Bell Beaker Culture” in the north has affinity with the CWC.  In Britain, Scandinavia, Northern Germany/Jutland/Eastern Europe all have affinity with Bell Beaker and CWC DNA. The confusion however is not as deep as it may seem because new DNA research has shed light that more and more CWC finds are of R1B. This now informs us that CWC was an R group including both R1B and R1A in possibly the same migration. The Single Grave Culture began expanding in the late Neolithic and possibly became the early Copper Age “Beaker Complex” that was not a people but a technological horizon. This horizon was carried by the Western Copper Age expression of the CWC expanding west to Britain and North to Scandinavia from Holland/Frisia with Bronze age Technology that began the Nordic Bronze Age. Hallstatt Celts would also have some influence on the Nordic Bronze Age. The culture that entered Britain had traditions that seemed as well to denote CWC ancestry in that “Beaker People” buried their warrior elite with axes. These early IE Britons match closely in DNA to the North Sea SGC and CWC sites. This would suggest that the majority Northern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe are of basically the same IE lineage since the early copper age with maybe some fluctuation in how much mixing with Indigenous Europeans had taken place then and before as CWC moved across Europe. The further north and especially east in Europe you go the higher admixture of Hunter Gatherer is found. Interestingly in the later Unetice Culture in Bohemia we see some samples with I2 haplogroups showing that males with Hunter ancestry continued to influence and marry into IE groups. In Switzerland we see some CWC sites also carrying I2 haplogroups. Czechia has CWC sites that are R1B and R1A as well as Poland having  R1B CWC sites. In summary the Haplogroups do not tell the whole story  but Autosomal DNA does tell us more that we can use. 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WhUiR1AoupXETsh0h9XocLKMq8ics4QrUl4m8BLf6t8/edit#gid=0

Above link is to CWC R1B sites.

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Here is a simple comparison study that I conducted on various samples and their modern day closest DNA matches:

These samples are the distance between the sample and the target population compared. 10 and under are exact ancestry. Above 10 is a contributing Ancestry. Above 15 is a component of Ancestry. Based on mytrueancestry.com’s description. Numbers bellow 10 shows ever greater affinity. 

CWC Switzerland:

1. Danish (7.695)
2. North_Dutch (8.616)
3. Norwegian (8.748)
4. West_Scottish (8.783)
5. Swedish (9.095)
6. Irish (9.305)
7. West_Norwegian (9.326)
8. North_Swedish (9.999

Bell Beaker North Holland:

1. Danish (5.185)
2. North_Dutch (6.258)
3. West_Scottish (6.396)
4. Irish (7.347)
5. Norwegian (7.363)
6. Orcadian (7.364)
7. West_Norwegian (7.545)
8. North_German (8.184)

Bell Beaker Augsberg Germany:

1. North_German (8.033)
2. Irish (10.06)
3. Danish (10.99)
4. West_Scottish (11.21)
5. Southeast_English (11.21)
6. North_Dutch (11.42)
7. South_Dutch (12.09)
8. Southwest_English (12.31)

Bell Beaker Czech:

1. West_Scottish (11.60)
2. Irish (11.81)
3. Orcadian (13.12)
4. Southeast_English (13.52)
5. Danish (14.50)
6. North_Dutch (15.02)
7. Southwest_English (15.44)
8. North_German (16.54)

CWC Poland:

1. Czech (11.76)
2. North_German (12.89)
3. Danish (15.89)
4. East_German (15.92)
5. Southwest_Finnish (16.18)
6. Austrian (16.33)
7. Irish (16.42)
8. North_Dutch (16.99)

Czech Bilina_N_Baalberge CWC:

1. North_German (11.38)
2. Czech (12.82)
3. East_German (13.06)
4. Danish (13.16)
5. South_Dutch (13.33)
6. German_Central (13.86)
7. North_Dutch (14.41)
8. North_Swedish (14.61)

Bell Beaker Czechia:

1. North_German (7.462)
2. Southwest_English (7.625)
3. Danish (7.892)
4. Southeast_English (7.934)
5. South_Dutch (7.959)
6. Irish (8.558)
7. North_Dutch (8.595)
8. West_Scottish (8.907)

Spreitenbach CWC Switzerland:

1. North_German (7.639)
2. North_Dutch (9.500)
3. Irish (9.681)
4. Danish (10.04)
5. Southeast_English (10.21)
6. Southwest_English (10.21)
7. South_Dutch (10.38)
8. Welsh (10.70)

Bell Beaker Amesbury England:

1. North_German (5.343)
2. Danish (7.868)
3. North_Dutch (8.821)
4. Irish (9.065)
5. West_Scottish (9.683)
6. Southeast_English (9.993)
7. North_Swedish (10.71)
8. Swedish (10.72)

As you can see there is relative consistency across all samples indicating shared ancestry across Czechia, Germany, Poland, Jutland, Britain and Scandinavia. Now lets look at Hallstatt and Unetice Samples:

Unetice Culture Bohemia:

1. Danish (7.463)
2. Norwegian (8.418)
3. North_Dutch (8.493)
4. West_Norwegian (8.593)
5. West_Scottish (9.179)
6. Swedish (9.360)
7. Orcadian (9.656)
8. North_German (9.876)

Western Pomerania Unetice Culture:

1. Czech (6.785)
2. Southwest_Finnish (7.018)
3. East_German (8.078)
4. Finnish (9.912)
5. Polish (10.16)
6. German_Central (10.23)
7. South_Polish (10.23)
8. Austrian (11.44)

Hallstatt: (Bronze Age Celts)

1. East_German (8.761)
2. German_Central (8.868)
3. Hungarian (11.56)
4. Welsh (13.14)
5. Flemish (13.57)
6. West_German (13.74)
7. South_Dutch (13.86)
8. Southwest_Finnish (14.09)

Now lets look at Bronze age samples not specifically assigned to a culture:

Bronze Age England:

1. Swedish (5.954)
2. Norwegian (6.669)
3. West_Norwegian (6.997)
4. North_Dutch (7.069)
5. Danish (7.546)
6. North_German (8.859)
7. North_Swedish (9.277)
8. West_Scottish (9.516)

Bronze Age Germany:

1. Southwest_English (6.710)
2. Southeast_English (6.754)
3. Irish (6.831)
4. North_German (8.003)
5. West_Scottish (8.085)
6. South_Dutch (8.516)
7. North_Dutch (9.422)
8. Danish (9.586)

Bronze Age Czechia:

1. North_Swedish (8.055)
2. Swedish (9.576)
3. North_German (10.08)
4. Danish (10.24)
5. Norwegian (10.41)
6. Southwest_Finnish (11.00)
7. North_Dutch (11.20)
8. German_Central (11.87)

Bronze Age Orkney Scotland:

1. Danish (4.110)
2. West_Scottish (4.222)
3. Irish (5.146)
4. North_Dutch (5.550)
5. Orcadian (6.381)
6. Southeast_English (6.427)
7. North_German (7.335)
8. Norwegian (8.080)

Bronze Age Scotland:

1. Norwegian (5.838)
2. Swedish (6.177)
3. North_Swedish (6.426)
4. German_Central (6.436)
5. Danish (6.877)
6. North_Dutch (7.004)
7. North_German (7.108)
8. West_Norwegian (8.534)

Bronze Age Scotland:

1. Danish (5.730)
2. Norwegian (6.026)
3. Swedish (6.315)
4. North_Dutch (6.316)
5. North_Swedish (7.276)
6. North_German (7.318)
7. West_Norwegian (7.926)
8. West_Scottish (7.965

Bronze Age Germany:

1. Danish (4.947)
2. West_Scottish (5.464)
3. Irish (6.245)
4. North_Dutch (6.249)
5. Southeast_English (6.422)
6. Orcadian (7.151)
7. Southwest_English (7.422)
8. North_German (7.848)

Bronze Age England:

1. West_Scottish (5.093)
2. Irish (5.318)
3. Danish (6.308)
4. North_Dutch (6.643)
5. Orcadian (7.565)
6. Southeast_English (7.600)
7. North_German (8.738)
8. Norwegian (9.446)

Now lets have a look at Viking and Iron age samples:

Viking Age Denmark:

1. North_German (7.773)
2. Irish (9.522)
3. Southeast_English (10.55)
4. North_Dutch (10.63)
5. Danish (10.77)
6. West_Scottish (10.88)
7. South_Dutch (11.27)
8. Southwest_English (11.30)

Medieval Gotland:

1. Danish (3.446)
2. North_Dutch (4.082)
3. Norwegian (5.472)
4. North_German (5.526)
5. West_Scottish (5.676)
6. Irish (5.761)
7. Swedish (6.272)
8. Southeast_English (6.975)

Medieval Denmark:

1. North_German (10.38)
2. Czech (11.94)
3. Southwest_Finnish (12.39)
4. Danish (12.40)
5. East_German (12.88)
6. Irish (13.35)
7. South_Dutch (13.35)
8. Southeast_English (13.78)

Viking Age Sweden:

1. Danish (5.099)
2. North_Dutch (6.066)
3. Norwegian (6.093)
4. West_Scottish (6.825)
5. West_Norwegian (7.310)
6. Irish (7.494)
7. Swedish (7.540)
8. North_German (8.059)

Cambridgeshire England Iron Age:

1. Danish (6.357)
2. Southwest_English (6.651)
3. Southeast_English (6.669)
4. West_Scottish (6.770)
5. North_Dutch (7.039)
6. Irish (7.398)
7. Orcadian (7.601)
8. Welsh (7.677)

Iron Age Denmark: (This sample may show higher EEF or WHG admixture given the distances).

1. North_German (15.11)
2. Irish (15.37)
3. Southeast_English (16.24)
4. Southwest_English (16.54)
5. West_Scottish (16.67)
6. North_Dutch (16.74)
7. South_Dutch (16.79)
8. Danish (17.11)

Iron Age England:

1. Danish (6.357)
2. Southwest_English (6.651)
3. Southeast_English (6.669)
4. West_Scottish (6.770)
5. North_Dutch (7.039)
6. Irish (7.398)
7. Orcadian (7.601)
8. Welsh (7.677)

Celtic Briton 1AD:

1. Irish (4.913)
2. West_Scottish (6.180)
3. Southeast_English (6.636)
4. North_German (6.998)
5. North_Dutch (7.221)
6. Danish (7.586)
7. Southwest_English (7.887)
8. Orcadian (8.278)

Scythian Ukraine 600BC:

1. North_German (9.992)
2. East_German (11.11)
3. South_Dutch (11.72)
4. Irish (12.03)
5. Southeast_English (12.45)
6. Southwest_English (12.54)
7. Danish (12.57)
8. North_Dutch (12.58)

(All Samples are derived from mytrueancestry.com and for full disclosure all samples are matched samples to my own DNA. For the sake of thoroughness I ran similar tests against donated samples from a person born in Eastern Germany who had documented ancestry to access even more samples. The results showed the same consistency in DNA. This does not however infer exhaustive surveying as conducted by larger scientific studies)

Again we see an admixture pointing toward a similar genetic base between Jutland/Scandinavia with Britain and East/Central Europe which would point to the advent of the Single Grave Culture as CWC combined possibly with Funnel Beaker groups. This led to the “Protruding Foot Beaker Culture” and hence could have been the catalyst for the Bell Beaker Expansion out of Frisia. Now carrying a popular “Bell Beaker” type of Pottery (See bellow for Iberian explanation). One thing across all these samples is a noticeable genetic similarity of Germanic and Celtic areas that holds up for a very long time across generations. All samples show this similarity when broken down in detailed comparison with ancient populations. As to why some scholars suggest the beaker pottery originates in Iberia is that the pottery itself may not be Indo-European but could have been traded to the invading CWC and associated Yamnaya groups. I think the Funnel Beaker culture could explain the transition from CWC/SGC and then Bell Beaker, this being said the proposed oldest Beaker is from Portugal and theories of it being  imported into Indo-European areas are popular. (See Beaker side note bellow)

Personally and this is my very amateur opinion but I see a greater likely hood of the Bell Beaker Complex as an evolution of the Protruding Foot Beakers of the SGC . As you can visually see the Corded Ware designs were already close to Bell Beaker designs and the PFBC seems to show even greater similarity after the the Funnelbeaker culture designs begin to merge with CWC. Another theory I have if they in fact were traded north originally the later Beakers could be cruder CWC copies as the further North you go the less like the Iberian Beakers they become. I base this purely on physical comparison. 

Compared Example of possible northern evolution of Bell Beaker Culture:

Funnelbeaker Culture:

Corden Ware:

 

Single Grave Culture:

Protruding Foot Beaker (Subset SGC)

 

Bell Beaker Pottery: 

 

Through inspection one can see many similarities in evolution and design. See bellow for the Iberian origin concept. Because our oldest example is from Portugal the Iberian origin can be referred to, however The PFBC dates in evolution from the same time frame or Earlier than the BBTC.

An Iberian Bell Beaker Side Note:

Although genetically descending more than likely from the SGC in Frisia or Denmark, the Beaker design may have been brought in from elsewhere. The Amesbury Archer in Britain was from Alpine Central Europe however we do not have his DNA. It should also be noted that the Southwestern expressions of the Beaker complex is genetically distant or unrelated to the Irish, British, North Sea and Eastern Branches who are CWC derived. Evidence might point to the Beaker complex resulting from the expression of the Atlantic coastal traditions of Neolithic Europeans coming into contact with CWC or SGC. I said a similar idea in another part of this article but I wanted to expand  by also stating that the Atlantic chalcolithic culture stretched from Iberia to Scotland/Scandinavia and may have been the exporters of the popular Beaker design. This would explain the Corded Ware Genetic lineage of the people in the North using Beakers and its spread from West to East. The Amesbury Archer was from the Alps but was buried with Beaker artifacts in an Indo European style mound. Many items from the Atlantic Bronze age can be found along the West Coast of Europe and in the North via trade.   Some of the Iberian hypothesis led to the Idea that the Celts originated in Iberia but this is now challenged by the more likely Hallstatt origin for the Celtic languages and Culture.   

Article bellow has additional info.

https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/prehistoric-pop-culture-deciphering-the-dna-of-the-bell-beaker-complex.htm

The idea that this was a maritime Atlantic material product has plenty of supporters and the theory would explain why it was widespread in CWC territories as an import with no known immigration from Iberia along with the pottery design. The oldest Beaker site was found in Portugal so far yet some still hold the Rhine region as its original expansion because of the CWC genetics of the Northern Beaker burials. It should be noted that Kurgan type burials were not practiced in Iberia nor were there steppe genetics present before the expansion of R1B from the north east at least as far as I can find through research.  R1b later became a very dominant haplogroup in Iberia even though autosomal DNA shows a greater diversity of backgrounds in Iberia. Something that could be resulted from just my lack of access to the artifact catalog but not all of the  elements of the Beaker Culture appear in Iberia and seem more heavily practiced in Britain and Germany/North Sea. The Golden Lunula of Britain/Ireland seem localized as do the gold Sun crosses. The Lunula appear in Spain after Celtization and the Lusitanians. Diodorus Siculus describes the Lusitanians as the bravest of the Cimbri. Frontinus calls their leader Viriathus as leader of the Celtiberians. By the end of the late BC’s Celtic and Germanic people were living and fighting in Iberia. They coexisted with non IE people.

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_R1b_Y-DNA.shtml#Maykop

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_R1b_Y-DNA.shtml

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Beaker_culture

)))))Always take anything on Wikipedia with a grain of salt(((((

I do not have the answers to the mysteries surrounding the Beaker Trade Complex so I simply want to present the ideas about its origin. I have my opinions based on the information available to  me which I stated above. I should note that I am purely an amateur having a go at the data available to me and I am not a geneticist or DNA expert. That being said lets continue the anthropology rabbit hole down a bit further.

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If we look a bit further forward we see a Celtic dominated central Europe by the Iron Age, who are also ultimately CWC descended. They  appear to follow out of the Urnfield group. The first definitively Celtic group might be the Hallstatt in Austria  however it has been proposed the Urnfield Culture may have spoken a Proto Celtic language. These Celts then spread across Europe covering previous Beaker territory entirely, and at least from a linguistic sense took over Britain but they would not have differed genetically much from the existing Beaker population in Britain/Ireland. At this point in the Bronze age we are seeing the recognizable cultures starting to split and evolve from the Yamna/CWC. Jutland shows Hallstatt/Urnfield influence materially and even possibly was partially Celtic speaking (Given some possibly Celtic Chieftain names) however shortly The Nordic Bronze Age becomes a very unique culture of its own. We see in the earliest Iron Age a new material culture arrive in Jutland, Germany and Poland from Scandinavia more than likely  speaking a Proto Germanic language since the Nordic Bronze Age. This is called the Jastorf Culture and it itself had contact with Celtic civilization upon entering Northern Continental Europe. Genetically we would still see largely no radical change as these groups are developing culturally but would still basically be descended from the CWC ancestry at the end of the Neolithic. By AD 1 the Wieldbark Culture has now migrated to Northern Germany/Poland and are believed to be The Goths from Sweden. Most of the North Sea, Denmark, Germany and Poland  are now inhabited by Germanic speaking Tribes in the vacuum left by the Celts. The Area of Holland/Belgium/Frisia are part of a culture that appears to be somewhere between Celt and Germanic known as the Hilversum/Elp culture. By the Roman and later Germanic Iron Age we begin to see the Known Tribes like Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Teutons, Sviar, Suebi, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Frisians, Rugi, Chatti etc. All of Germany, The North Sea, Denmark, Scandinavia and most of Poland/Czechia is now inhabited by Germanic speaking Tribes however in some cases Roman authors cannot distinguish between them and Celtic Tribes. The Belgae being described as both but contradicting reports are abound.  The Teutons are described as Germanic but some Chieftains hold what are Celtic or Celtic Influenced names. It should be noted that Roman authors were also sometimes confused in regard to separating Baltic and Germanic tribes on a few occasions like the Aestii.  They describe them as Germanic culturally “Like the Suebi” but British in language. Does this mean Ancient Germano-Celtic people were inhabiting Estonia before Uralic languages came to dominate or were they confused as to the difference between Celtic and Uralic languages?  We may not see a great change in genetics simply because the existing population of Central and Northern Europe was from the same evolving culture that arrived with CWC, then BBTC and later evolution was largely material and linguistic. To add to the confusion the Early Bastarnae tribe was listed as German, Celtic or both, even some suggesting Scythian who again were genetically believed to be IE.  The Teutons, Cimbri and Ambrones of Jutland also share this distinction as showing both Celtic and Germanic characteristics. Most likely having been Germanic speaking but show heavy influence from the earlier power of Celts as they controlled early Iron Age Europe. The leader of the Teutons  “Teutobod” shows a Celtic influenced name. Another connecting element between Celtic and Germanic tribes is the very word “Teuton” itself as it is exactly cognate to Celtic “Tuatha”  “Tuatha De Danann”  “People of Danann or Danu” and “Teuton” literally means people, a people. The Celts brought the Iron age to Scandinavia and that influence can be seen in swords and other artifacts as was the Hallstatt/Urnfield influencing some Nordic Bronze Age items. Celtic mythology when broken down shares a great deal with Germanic mythology as do they both with other IE cultures. In the next chapter we now get to dive past the archaeological migrations and basic DNA admixture and on to what separates these ancient Hyperborean tribes from each other by the Iron Age.

 

Cultural Lines:

So what is it then that made Germanic language and Culture so noticeably different than its neighbors by the time they arrive in the Late Bronze/Early  Iron Age?

Germanic culture might not be entirely Indo-European. At the time the Corded Ware arrive in Scandinavia and Denmark we have no evidence of what they spoke other than it was an IE language, we have no idea what the EEF or the WHG/EHG spoke either. The culture in Scandinavia at that time was Funnel Beaker ( hunter/Farmer) who built the stone megalithic sites in the north. Genetically this group (Assumed I1a) absorbed and took CWC women initially and I1a remained dominant. This group now partially Funnel Beaker and CWC produce the SGC and subsequent Bell Beaker cultures genetically. However the lines of I1a remain the dominant paternal line. So we see Autosomal affinity for CWC/Beaker but dominant indigenous I1a in better than 50% of the Germanic population in Scandinavia. As these tribes migrate into the continent they carry I1a,I2a, R1B, R1a and Some times N. In Germanic culture we see elements that are not IE such as the boat symbolism and Shamanic spiritual elements and Animism. Others have suggested a possibility that the Vanir represent the Gods of the FunnelBeaker people and the Asa the invading IE CWC? (TRSTJ) This theme is repeated in Celtic myth as well perhaps denoting the original EEF/WHG population of Britain having certain Gods and then the Beaker and Subsequent Celts bringing IE Gods. in Germanic language we easily see the IE cognates in Celtic, Baltic, Slavic and Latin however many elements exist in Germanic that simply do not follow the predictable IE root. Are these Hunter Gather or EEF language traces?. Whether this idea is correct or not the development of Germanic culture happened between waves of IE in CWC and then again with SGC/Bell Beaker interacting with the native Funnelbeaker group. Perhaps Isolation sets in as the now fully realized Celts dominate Central Europe and the Nordic Bronze age gives way to greater isolation (Maria Kvilhaug) . The admixture of Funnelbeaker/CWC/SGC/BBTC begins to homogenize into a new material culture. Do Uralic tribes contribute to it?  can we assume to some extent as their religion may have influenced Germanic spirituality?.  By the time of the Jastorf Culture and Wielbark Culture we see the new material culture, religion, burials and language groups crash on the shores of Northern Europe. These are now no longer ambiguous tribes possibly associated with archaeological sites  but well established groups with traditions, trading and conflicting in a newly broken open Northern Europe. The Romans had weakened the previously iron bound Celts, they are now moving around and by AD 100 Germany/Scandinavia/Eastern Europe is dominated by Germanic tribes.

What are the possible broken down ingredients of Germanic culture and DNA?

Bullet Points of possible influences:

CWC,SGC/BBTC DNA, Religion, burial customs, organization and weapons. (R1b) (R1A)

Hunter Gatherer and Neolithic farmer DNA. (I1a) (I2a) ( G2A2)

Possible Hunter Gatherer Animism/Shamanism remnants.

Possible Finnic/Uralic Shamanic elements.

Funnelbeaker boat cult and seasonal traditions?  (Hunter/Farmer)

Hallstatt Technology influence.

Celtic Iron Age/La Tene technology influence.

Possibly Hunter or EEF language remnants.

Indo-European languages spoken by CWC,SGC/BBTC.

All these details could have boiled down into the Nordic Bronze Age Culture. We are under the impression by the time of the Nordic Bronze Age they had split into the Germanic branch of Indo European languages.

An LBK/EEF Side Note:

 

An interesting note regarding the LBK culture is the practice of burying males with axes as status markers. Could this have contributed to the Battle Axe/Boat axe culture of Scandinavia as the Neolithic farmers began populating Nordic Europe?.

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The Triskelion so widely put with Celtic culture was in fact probably an EEF symbol which is why it is found all over Europe from North to South. Found in imagery of both Norse and Celtic peoples with shared ancestry from these farmers is found. These farming people came from the Caucasus, Anatolia, Balkans and Mediterranean coast carrying new cereals and grasses to Northern Europe. They are closely related to the WHG and CHG in Ancient times and split from them around 23,000BC. CHG carry G2a  haplogroup as do the EEF people. Their legacy genetically varies in commonness today but the astounding megalithic monuments impress today as they have for thousands of years.

So in summary what do we see here as an explanation to our original question? Northern Europe is Autosomaly derived from the last SGC/Bell Beaker expansion whether in Britain, Central, Western, Northern Europe or the Atlantic coast. These are descended from CWC. R1B and R1A are both found among CWC as new evidence suggests. Older early finds of R1B in Western Europe could be from sporadic EEHG movement in the last 12,000 years. The further North in Europe the higher affinity with Hunters is found, the farther South the closer to the original EEF migrations. The further South East you see a resurgence in I2A hunter DNA in the Balkans and South Eastern Europe but a still close affinity with IE groups like Romans, Greeks and even Celts. The overall highest Autosomal representation across all of Europe is CWC  in one form or another including Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Germanic culture is more linguistic/material culture oriented than genetic based on widespread available DNA samples. This true for Celts as they share amounts WHG/EEF but did not exist in a vacuum. They were active players in a massive swath of Europe and Central Asia which might be why post Nordic Bronze Age people evolved into something new was due to political isolation in Scandinavia and only re entered the fray after the Celtic domination of central Europe was interrupted by Rome and other hostiles from further East later on. Celtic Culture seems now a foot note relegated to Britain only but they represent a major point of Ancestry for all Northern European people. We also know through DNA that the Beaker populations of Britain, Scandinavia and Germany/Czechia share close affinity with Germanic DNA meaning that before the arrival of Proto Germanic languages the DNA already existed as the Beaker DNA profile does not change greatly after Germanic arrival but for the increase in Ancient I1A Haplogroups in Continental Europe. The Autosomal stays relatively consistent. This all means that Central, Western, Eastern Europe to an extent and Northern Europe has been genetically consistent since the late Neolithic arrival of CWC. 

I hope my amateur  take on this is found interesting and maybe inspires the reader to do their own research. At no point is any of this intended as a expression of superiority or best/worst people or cultures. I am Northern European so the research sticks within this category of European history and Genetics. I hope it can help those with any type of Ancestry to be open to viewing the concept outside the line of National borders as they have only existed for a short time compared to the age of humanity. Culture, Language, History and the wholeness it brings is much needed today and understanding migration and the difference between culture and genetics can go a long way to understanding your own folk soul.

The Material cultures of Europe:

The Paleolithic Europeans: ,Britain, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Anatolia, Caucuses, Near East) (Homosapien)

Aurignacian: Europe and the Levant. 43,000 ago.

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Gravettian Culture: (Europe) I, CT, IJK, C2a2, BT Haplogroups. MTDNA M and U. 33,000 years ago.

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Solutreans: (Iberia/Western Europe)  21,000 years ago.

Epigravettian: (in pink) (Europe) 20,000 years ago.

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The Mesolithic: Britain,Scandinavia, Northern/Central, Eastern and Western Europe: Hunters (WHG,EHG,SHG)

(See Who are the German people part 2 for broken down Mesolithic Scandinavia maps with tools)

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Neolithic Farmers: EEF,LBK and Lengyel Culture etc. (Southern Europe to North Western Europe and Scandinavia)

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Funnelbeaker Culture: (Scandinavia, Germany, Baltic coast, Central Europe)

*Photo credits are in file names* Photo source Wikipedia.com.

 

The material cultures of the North, East, West and Central Europe: Indo Europeans.

Yamnaya Culture: Northern, Eastern, Central Europe and Western Steppe.

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Corded Ware/Battle Axe Culture:

Single Grave Culture:

 

https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-neolithic-period/the-single-grave-culture/  

 

Bell Beaker Culture:

 

Early Bronze Age/Late Neolithic Shaman England:

https://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk/?artwork=upton-lovell-shaman

The shaman has a G2a Neolithic Haplogroup but has elements of metal working buried with him.

 

British/Irish Bronze age:

 

Nordic Bronze Age:

http://www.germanicmythology.com/MISCELLANEOUS/KivikGrave.html

Central Europe: Bronze Age.

Únětice culture: A widely traded Bronze Age Culture in Central Europe.

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Tumulus Culture: 

 

Pomeranian Culture.

 

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Urnfield Culture. (Proto Celts?

 

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Hallstatt Culture: Central Europe, East Britain. Celts.

 

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Iron Age Culture:

Iron Age Hallstatt:

La Tene Culture Celtic Iron Age: Central Europe/Britain. Celts

 

Fully developed Germanic Culture:

Wielbark Culture: (Northern Poland) (Associated with the Goths/Germanic people)

Jastorf Culture: Early Iron Age Germany/Denmark. RED.

 

 

Goths: Ostro/Visi.

Goths/Gutes/Geats: Gotland.

Denmark Iron Age:

Germania: (Franks, Lombards, Alemannic, Thuringians, Chatti etc..)

Anglo Saxon/Vendel Era: (Germany, England, Denmark, Holland, Frisia, Sweden) “Pre Viking age”.

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Viking Age: 793-1100 CE

The images above are not owned by me unless otherwise stated. I have collecteed the images from google search, Pinterest and Wikipedia. If you own one of these images qand want it removed please leave a comment. Nothing here was done outside the realm of example, education and reference. No violation of rights are intended.

VIDEOS to further explore:

 

The European Bog Bodies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bog_bodies#Kreepen_Man

A tradition in Northern Europe since the Mesolithic. Bodies have been found in Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Britain, Poland, Sweden and Norway.  These traditions begin in the mesolithic and and go through the Iron Age.

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The Wooden God Poles:

Shigir Idol Russia (Mesolithic)

 

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Dagenham Idol Briain, 2250BCE.

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Slavic Figure Brandenburg Germany. 5th century CE.

 

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Wittmoor Figures Lower Saxony Iron Age.

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Broddenbjerg idol Denmark 535–520 BCE.

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Braak Bog Figure 2nd or 3rd century BCE Schleswig-Holstein.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphic_wooden_cult_figurines_of_Central_and_Northern_Europe

 

Celtic Stone Figures:

Boa Island

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jorbasa/6108703723/in/gallery-celtico-72157630432487128/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/celtico/galleries/72157630432487128/

https://twitter.com/DarkCloudBeing

A few interesting Links on Celtic archeology:

https://www.dw.com/en/secrets-of-a-celtic-princess/g-18088352

https://womenofhistory.blogspot.com/2015/12/archaeologists-found-2600-year-old.html

 

Now on to some practical stuff about etymology and ancestral records.

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GENEALOGY:

This is the hardest part as far as writing an article but I will do my best share my tips on finding records and information.

Tip Number 1: Names.

Do not be married to your surnames spelling, there is a chance that the name has changed  and has many variants. If you live in America it could have been changed to be easier or more phonetic at Ellis Island or before. I have one ancestor who’s name had the same meaning but changed spelling, I had to purchase access to a record to get enough info to confirm it was the correct person.

Spellings:

All languages have etymological trees and those trees have branches.

Example:

Siegfried: A well known German Name.

Variants in German, Dutch Scandinavian dialects:

Sievert, Siever, Siefert, Sigvard, Siewart, Sievers, Sieffert, Sivert, (Sivrit (MHG) (Sigard(ON) Sigfred, Sigfrid, Sigfryd.

All names are from the same root name from Pro Germanic.

Each spelling can tell you what region the name came from and how it evolved. This method can be used to recognize either obviously related names or ones that very greatly but have the same origin.

English and Irish Names are no different, Germanic names were left by Germanic people and Celtic names were left by Celtic people or at least influenced by the culture related to the name. Norman names however were widely taken by Celts and Anglo Saxons alike. Norse and Anglo Saxons used “SON” or “Sen” in name endings but it was rarer on the continent but “sen” endings are found in Northern Germany. Similar endings exist in other languages for the same reasons. MAC and O before Celtic names denote “son of” and “Fitz” before Norman names have the same meaning “Son of or of this person”. In Slavic “Ski” denotes nobility. In Spanish names with EZ or IZ endings may denote Visigothic origins.  Germanic names have high numbers of variants and endings, the etymology is a hobby all its own but knowing something about words, languages and etymology can help you in your search. 

Italian and Greek names would obviously derive from those cultures but we find Roman and Greek names in other regions due to popularity. Many Italian and Spanish names are of Germanic and Celtic origin as well. Slavic names have influenced Germanic names and vise versa. The Celts spread as far east as Anatolia at one point and influenced many cultures.

http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_name#:~:text=Adjectival%20names%20very%20often%20end%20in%20the%20suffixes%2C,typically%20Polish%20or%20typical%20for%20the%20Polish%20nobility.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_name

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_onomastics

Being Relentless:

 

The best advice I can give on the actual meat and potato’s part of ancestry is the relentless curiosity you need to have. Check again and again looking over multiple records, census, draft cards, comparing dates, names and variations. As stated above you are going to be hindered if you are emotionally attached to certain spellings or if your DNA comes in off from what you expect from geographic origins. Of course this never takes your culture away that you grew up with but may reveal more than you expected to find. Another skill to hone is trying to decipher hand writing on census and other ancestry related documents. This may seem obvious but I learned over time to be accustomed to the various ways the spellings looked in good and bad hand writing. This also applies to places of origins and country names. An example I could give is my great grand parents on my fathers side were from Poland or so we thought. Turns out their papers said Aust-Poland or an area within the Austro-Hungarian empire. They were specifically from Galicia and had a name more common amongst Croatians and Slovenians than Poles. The story was a bit more complicated but interesting in its own way. Don’t disregard records that may have one missing piece of data or a misspelled name. Many mistakes were made when recording this data and dates can be years off record to record. Often times a countries border could change and later be called something else in later records for example: Some of my ancestors were listed in later records as from Germany but in earliest records their kingdoms were listed such as Hesse, Prussia, Southern Denmark, Saxony-Anhalt, Frisia etc…when later they were states within the country of Germany. This to me is the fun part of research, going back and seeing what was happening at the time. I know my fathers line have a Swedish name and were from Prussia (North Eastern Germany) and the name is found in Sweden and North Eastern Germany. It is etymologically associated with the Goths. I found these details through maps, books, etymology lists, historical records and various documents found on current and defunct websites.

Websites I have used are:

Ancestry.com (Good records but can be costly, DNA is good)

FTDNA.com (Lots of tools and Haplogroups but can be expensive)

Myheritage.com (Good for finding living genetic relatives by country)

Familysearch.org (genealogy website associated with the Mormon Church but great records and data) FREE)

Rootsweb.com (Can have rare records)

Mytrueancestry.com (Great for ancient DNA, Culture comparison, tribal associations and modern DNA populations. Expensive)

Other websites that can be helpful are:

Youtube.com (cultural documentaries, history, DNA research)

Wiktionary.com (etymology, word/name origins)

Wikipedia.org (history, maps, DNA info, Archeology)

Eupedia.com (DNA, Articles, History, Human migration, DNA family trees)

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I hope this amateur look at my European DNA proves interesting and can put some light on the subject. I am not myself even close to truly deep diving into the subject of European Anthropology.  It will be one of many coming up, including some fun comparative mythology, more Anglo Saxon word etymology, hopefully some serious writing in Anglo Saxon and new Blacksmithing works and cultural crafting. 

I am sure there are missed details and mistakes, I have edited this 25 times (not a joke) but will continue to refine it as I am sure I will notice issues as my knowledge base grows. All possible cultures and their interactions have not been named as the focus in that section is primary well defined pre historic cultures.

Skål

Hroðberht-

October 18, 2020 | Categories: Ancestry DNA, ancestry esearch, Ancient Germany, Ancient Northern Europe, Ancient Scandinavia, Anglo Saxon Frisian, Axe Culture, Balts, Celtic culture, denmark, DNA research, European Culture, family history, MTDNA YDNA, Norse Culture, North Sea Coast, North Sea Germanic Jutland, Old English, West Germanic Language | Tags: Ancestry, Ancestry DNA, Anglo Frisian, anglo saxon, DNA, Europe, Europeans, family history, FTDNA, history, Indo-Europeans, mesolithic, My DNA, Paleo Europe, paleolithic, vendel era, Viking Ancestry | Leave a comment