Unpublished mtDNA and Y-chromosome genetic data has rapidly piled up about the British people. Synthesising the new genetic evidence with linguistics, archaeology and history, Stephen Oppenheimer breaks dramatic findings about the origins of the British people. The first scoop is that the roots of English identity lie over 6000 years ago, not with the Anglo-Saxons. The 'Anglo-Saxon invasion' contributed only 5-10 per cent of male English genes. Instead, the genetic evidence reveals that the majority of English people derive ...
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Unpublished mtDNA and Y-chromosome genetic data has rapidly piled up about the British people. Synthesising the new genetic evidence with linguistics, archaeology and history, Stephen Oppenheimer breaks dramatic findings about the origins of the British people. The first scoop is that the roots of English identity lie over 6000 years ago, not with the Anglo-Saxons. The 'Anglo-Saxon invasion' contributed only 5-10 per cent of male English genes. Instead, the genetic evidence reveals that the majority of English people derive directly from before the first farmers. Secondly, new genetic findings finally answer the question of Celtic genetic identity. The putative origins of the Celts is an issue real for millions of people, from sore-lunged Glasgow football fans to the refined Celtic diasporas of North America and Australia. Gene lines prove once and for all the continued existence of a discrete, British Atlantic coast-based population that first spread north from the Basque country at the end of the last Ice Age - not Iron Age Europe. The division between England and the Atlantic fringe started to build up from that time. Finally, Oppenheimer puts new detail on the genetic legacy of the Viking invasions. He reveals that Orkney and Shetland, far from being victims, had been part of the Scandinavian world long before the Viking onslaught and, through the evidence of their genes, participated actively in raids on Ireland and the colonization of Iceland.
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Good. Ex-Library Book. Has usual library markings and stamps inside. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
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As New in New dust jacket. 0786718900. This specific hardback book is in like new condition with a hard board cover that has sharp edges and corners and has a tight binding. The pages are clean, unmarked and uncreased with only the slightest yellow tint. The dust jacket is in fine condition with little wear if any. We package all books in custom cardboard book boxes for shipment and ship daily with tracking numbers.; "History has long maintained that the Anglo-Saxon overtaking of the Iron Age Celts was the origin of the British people. Celtic Britain reconstructs the peopling of Britain — through a study of genetics, climatology, archaeology, language, culture, and history — and overturns that myth and others. The Anglo-Saxons, who supposedly conquered the Celts, contributed only five to ten percent of the British gene pool. The “Atlantic Celts, ” long believed to have migrated to Britain from Central Europe around 300 BC during the Iron Age, can be linked genetically to the people of Basque country. And linguistic evidence suggests that, besides Celtic languages, a Germanic-type language similar to Norse was also spoken in Britain long before the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons. In this groundbreaking study, Stephen Oppenheimer explaines the surprising roots of the present-day cultural identities of the English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh."; 6.25 X 2 X 9.5 inches; 320 pages.
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Shows some light wear from age and use. Interior is good with sound binding and no marks, damage or labels. Thanks for your business! Your satisfaction is guaranteed!
Stephen Oppenheimer's books are always interesting, even though they ask the reader to keep in mind a vast amount of information collated and compared from half a dozen disciplines. "The Origins of the British" is probably the most readable of his books. He brings to bear DNA studies, archeologogy, history, and linguistics on some thorny questions about the origins of the people of Britain. The book came into being when journalists misrepresented a carefully nuanced statement that Oppenheimer gave in an interview regarding how far back Celtic and Germanic people have inhabited the British Isles. We are richer for it. His account takes us back to the repeopling of northern Europe following the Last Glacier Maximum and subsequent migrations and cultural diffusion movements into the area of the British Isles. In the process, he reveals not only some extraordinary facts based on DNA studies, but he also presents evidence that the Celts originated in southern France, not Central Europe, and that the roots of English go back to a Germanic presence in Britain that predates the Roman occupation. This book is a welcome feast from many viewpoints. My only criticism is that the U.S. edition, which I bought, is printed on paper of poor quality and occasionally names or places mentioned in the text are not to be found on maps or in the index. One gets the impression that the book was prepared in record time. Yet, over-all, the editing standard does credit to its publishers. Highly recommended.
