Using DNA to find Goths

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

On 24/07/2006 16:02, OSCAR HERRERA wrote:
> your written sources are wrong.....your tryin to say they were 
 > emulating the romans ways , takin in whoever joined their
 > legions....history pretty much states they were a peaceful group
 > and were only in search of a home to live on......

It is difficult to tell from your message who you think that I think 
were emulating "romans ways"; you use the pronoun "they" without an 
antecedent.  Possibly "they" are the Goths?  But they you go on to talk 
about "their legions", and I'm not aware that Gothic armies were 
organized in legions.  I am likewise confused by your statement that 
"they" (Goths again?) were a "peaceful group and were only in search of 
a home to live on".  Doubtless, equipped with territory in which to live 
in relative prosperity, the Goths (or anyone) would be likely to act in 
a peaceable fashion.  I think you will find that most scholars see the 
very lack of secure terriotry on which to live was forcing Gothic groups 
into conflict with neighboring groups whether they wanted it or not. 
(Or, would you want to suggest that the Goths were not actually present 
at, say, the Battle of Adrianople? :)

On 24/07/2006 16:21, OSCAR HERRERA wrote:
 > i mean if they werent goths then whats the since in pursuing info on
 > them....all of the gothic groups are peddling around with false
 > subject matter, then.....

Not at all.  The point of studying Gothic groups is to understand better 
culture of the people who were members of those groups (and the 
historical process in which they were involved) -- clearly, there were 
people in antiquity who regarded themselves as having a "Gothic" (or at 
least primarily "Gothic") identity, regardless of whether their fathers 
or all their grandmothers had also considered themselves to have a 
"Gothic" identity.

Clearly the culture and ethnic make-up of say, England or France, is 
considerably different than it was 500 years ago.  Now while it would be 
simplisitic to draw one-to-one correspondances, I think scholars will 
generally agree that the culture and ethnic makeup of Visigothic Spain 
in 700 AD was rather different than that of any Gothic-speaking 
particpants in the Chernyakhov Culture in 200 AD.  Yet just as we can 
talk about English or French culture -- about these cultures today and 
today and half a millenia ago, differences between these cultures at 
different time periods and the processes of change that lead between 
them -- we can talk about Gothic cultures at different times in 
different places (regardless of the genetics of the participants in 
those Gothic cultures).

On 24/07/2006 16:34, OSCAR HERRERA wrote:
 > naaa, your pretty much wrong, carl.........

I think I can live with your accusation ;)

Cheers,
Carl

-- 
Carl Edlund Anderson
mailto:cea at carlaz.com
http://www.carlaz.com/


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