Using DNA to find Goths

[Carl Edlund Anderson]

On 24/07/2006 23:49, Ingemar Nordgren wrote:
> This leaves only one feasible way
> to make DNA tests that can be at least partly verified by written
> documents identifying these persons and that is Arthurs suggestion of
> royal- and noble genealogies.One thing also that could help is the
> intermarriage verdict between Goths and Romans that was at least
> nominally enforced in e.g. Dacia and Italy. Maybe there could be found
> some haplo- or Mitocondric groups in those areas that may point
> towards a certain area but that seems to be a very wild chance if they
> are not supported by any kind of genalogy be it historically accepted
> or mythic. 

Indeed!  And I think and additional problem is that if it was deemed 
necessary (for whatever reason) to pass laws against intermarriage 
between Goths and Romans, it's probably because it was happening. 
(People don't tend to make laws against things they see as problems 
unless those things are happening frequently enough that they feel a 
need to make them illegal.)  All you need are a few Goths like Stilicho 
(Vandal father, Roman mother) and drawing links between genetics and 
language/culture rapidly gets even more complicated and difficult than 
it already is.

> I really hope this project will work but I must confess I
> am rather sceptical. In any way I suggest that these investigations
> rather should be made on grave material (bones), if that is possible,
> comparing initially Wielbark and Cherniakov-Sintana de Mures and
> completed with samples of people living in Poland, Ukraine and
> Romania.

I think that would be the best hope, though I understand the difficulty 
of recovering genetic material from ancient remains.  Still, it's always 
at least  _possible_ that one could find some markers in ancient remains 
from those regions that occured in modern populations living in other 
areas where Gothic groups are known to have been active but not in 
modern populations elsewhere in regions where Gothic groups weren't 
present .... but it's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack when 
one isn't sure what a needle is ....

Cheers,
Carl

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


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
See what's inside the new Yahoo! Groups email.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/3EuRwD/bOaOAA/yQLSAA/wWMplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/