One in ten Scots men descended from Picts

**Dale Seago** · 27th March 13, 10:56 AM

This is hardly surprising, but it's interesting:

http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman...icts-1-2855561

The "disappearance" of the Picts was a matter of political and cultural assimilation or absorption, not population displacement or extinction. There's plenty of evidence that this is also what happened with the British Celts when the Anglo-Saxons took over down south.

**TheOfficialBren** · 27th March 13, 03:46 PM

It's a tale as old as time, my friend. One could also make the same case for many (certainly NOT ALL) of our indigeonous peoples here in the States.

**MNlad** · 27th March 13, 04:31 PM

Not surprising. I seem to recall a similar story about Roman DNA markers in the British Isles about half a year ago. It seems assimilation was much more a part of conquest than displacement or annihilation over the eons. As an Italian friend of mine once said, "Who do you think taught the Scots to wear a skirt? Ever check out the battle dress of the Romans?" Of course he was kidding, but is it so outlandish?

**mookien** · 27th March 13, 04:59 PM

Dale: Interesting. Thanks for posting. Comforting to see current historical understanding reinforced by genetic evidence.

John

**room2ndfloor** · 27th March 13, 06:19 PM

Fascinating!

To go back even further, "Doggerland", when the British Isles were neither British nor Isles.

A house from 10,000 B.C, 1500 sq feet, with an oval-shaped foundation.

http://http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/maps/doggerland/?ar_a=1

**Dale Seago** · 27th March 13, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by mookien

Dale: Interesting. Thanks for posting. Comforting to see current historical understanding reinforced by genetic evidence.

John

Pretty good overview of the Picts here, BTW:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts

**Ancienne Alliance** · 28th March 13, 01:55 AM

I am fortunate enough to be able to trace my ancestry all the way up to Spondana, a Pictish princess !

No DNA needed !

Best,

Robert

**Geoff Withnell** · 28th March 13, 05:22 AM

The new part of this study is finding Pictish markers in the male line. It is my understanding that mitochondrial (sp?) dna, the female line, shows considerable Pictish contributions throughout the British Isles.

**room2ndfloor** · 28th March 13, 09:59 AM

Impressive! Of course, we can't Pict our relatives.

**OC Richard** · 29th March 13, 05:28 AM

Originally Posted by Geoff Withnell

The new part of this study is finding Pictish markers in the male line. It is my understanding that mitochondrial (sp?) dna, the female line, shows considerable Pictish contributions throughout the British Isles.

A great point and something to keep in mind when we see these DNA studies. Mitochondria have their own DNA which is passed unmixed through the female line, and the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosomal DNA passes unmixed through the male line. The two are often quite different in a given population, and tell a different tale. This is striking in Melungeon DNA where, if I recall correctly, the mitochondrial DNA is purely European while the Y-chromosomal DNA has African and Native American components. (I think it's why an older Melungeon DNA study showed them to be purely European but a recently study revealed the African and Native American streams.)