Any suggestions as to alternate etymologies are welcome. Based on my understanding of the Thai language, and my studies of other languages, and what I can find online, here's where I think these 10 words may have come from:
สิงโต [siŋtɔ:] (n. lion), first element cognate to Hindi "सिंह" [siŋ] (lion), from Sanskrit [siṃha] (lion), cognate to Swahili "simba" (lion).
ตา [ta:] (n. eye), possibly shortened from Proto-Austronesian *mata (eye), as in Malay "mata" (eye) and Tagalog "mata" (eye), likely sharing a common origin with Proto-Austro-Asiatic *mat (eye), as in Vietnamese "mắt" (eye).
สาม [sa:m] (three), of Sinitic origin, cognate to Chinese "三" [sam] (three) and Japanese "三" [san] (three).
ดำ [da:m] (black), possible cognate to Proto-Vietic *tem (night) and Proto-Monic *tam (night).
นก [nuk] (n. bird), possibly shortened from Proto-Austronesian *manuk (chicken). Probably cognate to White Hmong "noog" [noŋ] (bird) as well.
สวัสดี [sàwàtdiː] (hello, goodbye), of Indo-European origin, from Sanskrit "स्वस्ति" [svasti] (well-being, luck), cognate to English "swastika" (Greek cross with arms bent at right angles, originally a good luck charm). Svasti = [su] (good) + [asti] (is), second element from Proto-Indo-European *es-ti (is), cognate to English "is" (is) and German "ist" (is).
โรง [rɔ:ŋ] (n. building, structure), borrowed from Old Khmer [roŋ] (shelter/room/hall), c.f. Khmer [raoŋ], from Proto-Austro-Asiatic *ro:ŋ (hall/house).
ข้าว [ka:w] (n. rice), cognate to Proto-Austro-Asiatic *kɔw (rice), cognate to Vietnamese "gạo" (rice). Direction of borrowing between the language families is uncertain, and probably took place many thousands of years ago.
ไฟ [fai] (electric), possibly of recent English origin, possibly cognate to English "fire" (fire), from Proto-Indo-European *paewr (fire). First element of Lao [fai-fa:] is clearly a cognate, and White Hmong "fai fab" [fai fa] was clearly borrowed from the Lao form.
แอปเปิล [ɛːpɤːl] (n. apple), of recent English origin, cognate to Malay "epal" (apple) and English "apple" (apple), from Proto-Indo-European *abel (apple).
เปล่า [plaɔ] (not, blank, empty, nil), possibly cognate to Lao "ບໍ່" [bɔː] (not).
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Genetic Evidence Regarding the Peopling of Siberia
In modern times, the expanse of Siberia is dominated by speakers of Slavic languages (including Russian and Ukranian), Altaic languages (including languages of the Mongolic, Turkic and Tungusic language families) and Uralic languages (including languages of the Samoyedic language family). However, there are several language families and language isolates found throughout Siberia that tell of a more distant history of the population of Siberia. These languages include the Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages of eastern Siberia, the Yukaghir languages of western Siberia, the Nivkh and Ainu language isolates of the Sakhalin, and the Ket language (the only surviving language of the Yeniseian language family).
Additionally, based on the theory that the Americas were populated by Siberians who crossed the Bering Strait, one would expect that languages ancestral to the Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dené and Amerind language families of the indigenous Americans must have at one time been spoken in Siberia. In 2008, historical linguist Edward Vajda proposed that the Na-Dené and Yeniseian language families are in fact subphyla of a larger Dené-Yeniseian language stock, a theory which has since received wide acceptance. A similar proposal by Michael Fortescue in 1998 suggests that the Uralic, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Yukaghir and Eskimo-Aleut families are in fact branches of a larger Uralo-Siberian language family.
This article explores the genetic differences and similarities between the modern speakers of the Slavic, Uralo-Siberian, Altaic, Nivkh, Ainu, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind language families, with the goal of understanding how, when and why their ancestors came to inhabit the harsh expanse of Siberia.
The Big Picture: Haplogroup K(xLT) vs. Haplogroup C
In terms of Y-DNA haplogroups exhibited by modern inhabitants of Siberia, subclades of haplogroup C and of haplogroup K(xLT) dominate the region. These two distantly related haplogroups (sharing a most recent common ancestor 60,000 years before present) are believed to have spread across Eurasia independently, although they ultimately met in Siberia, forming the basis of the current population of both Siberia and the Americas. A lack of haplogroup C among the speakers of Amerind languages suggests either a bottleneck in the migration through the Americas, or that ancestors of the first Siberians to migrate to the Americas lived in an eastern Siberian region that had thus far been populated by K(xLT), but not C ethnicities. I find the latter to be a more convincing theory, and propose that an examination of the peopling of Siberia should begin with an examination of the ratio of C to K(xLT) among present populations.
Most Recent Arrivals: Slavic Speakers
The spread of Slavic languages throughout Siberia is known to be recent. Based on linguistic research alone, the Slavic languages probably only split off from the Indo-European language family less than 4,000 years ago, and most Slavic languages are not spoken in Siberia, but rather Eastern Europe. Speakers of Slavic languages exhibit a high occurrence of Y-DNA haplogroup R1a, associated with Indo-European languages, a sister clade of R1b which is associated with the Vasconian languages of the Iberian Peninsula. The Slavic people do not generally exhibit haplogroup C. Any population speaking a Slavic language in Siberia would either be the result of recent migration (as would be indicated by the dominance of R1a, or recent adoption of the Slavic language by that population, i.e. language shift. It should be noted, however, that R1a is a clade of K(xLT), indicating a distant relation to some of the other Siberian ethnicities, albeit some 40,000 years before present, and through a most recent common ancestor who probably resided in Central Asia, not Siberia.
Populations With Large Percentages of Haplogroup C
According to a 2004 study by Kristiina Tambet, et al., speakers of Tungusic languages (Evens and Evenks, in this study) exhibited high proportions of haplogroup C. Evens exhibited 74.2% haplogroup C; Evenks exhibited 67.7%. The dominant K(xLT) haplogroup making up the remainder of these populations was haplogroup N, perhaps a result of recent or ancient admixture with Uralo-Siberian speaking populations. A 2005 study by Miroslava Derenko demonstrated that Mongolic speaking Kalmyks exhibited 70.6% haplogroup C; Buryats exhibited 63.9% haplogroup C; and Mongolians exhibited 53.8%. In each of these populations, the next largest component of the Y-DNA mixture consisted of haplogroup N (although Mongolians exhibited a similar proportion of haplogroup O, likely due to a long period of close contact with Chinese populations). Due to the time-depth of the separation of the Tungusic and Mongolic languages from the Altaic family, the haplogroup N component probably represents a uniform superstrata that manifested in Altaic populations soon after Altaic arrival in Siberia. While Turkic speaking Siberian populations exhibit both haplgroups C and N, they exhibit haplogroup C in far lesser proportions, probably due to admixture from various populations as a result of centuries of migrations and reverse migrations along the silk road. The dominant clade of haplogroup C among Altaic speakers is C3, which is believed to have first occurred approximately 12,000 years ago. C3 is also present in over 11% of the hypothetically Macro-Altaic speakers of the Korean language, and the related C1 sister clade, also approximately 12,000 years old, is frequent in hypothetically Macro-Altaic Japanese speakers. Perhaps the Macro-Altaic languages of the Japanese and Korean populations split off from the rest of the Altaic languages very close to the time subclades C1 and C3 occurred. Other Y-DNA admixtures in Japanese and Koreans are not discussed here, as they are not strictly-speaking, Siberian populations. The Ainus of Siberia and Japan, however, will be discussed in a subsequent section of this article. It suffices to say that populations of Proto-Macro-Altaic speakers arrived in Siberia, probably in two migrations (C1 along the coast and C3 further inland), around 10,000 years ago, and soon after, the inland population began interbreeding with earlier Uralo-Siberian populations exhibiting haplogroup N.
Subdivisions of Haplogroup K(xLT)
At the timeframe of around 40,000 years before present, K(xLT) was probably already divided into four subclades, namely M, NO, P and S. Haplogroups M and S are not of particular importance to this discussion, as they generally appear only in island populations of the southern Pacific, such as New Guinea. Approximately 30,000 years ago, haplogroup O split off from NO, and descendants of the individual who first carried that mutation include much of the population of central and southeast Asia (including Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian, Hmong-Mien and Austro-Asiatic speakers). Haplogroup N probably first occurred around 25,000 years before present, and its N1 subclades (primarily N1c) probably arrived in Siberia around 15,000 years ago, and spread across the region via Uralo-Siberian speaking populations. Haplogroup Q (the predominant Siberian subclade of haplogroup P) probably predated haplgroup N in Siberia, and will be discussed subsequently.
Evidence strongly suggests that the progenitor of haplogroup N spoke a language ancestral to the Uralic languages, as haplogroup N is found in high proportions in all areas where Uralic languages are spoken, particularly in populations of Nenets (97.3%), Nganasans (92.1%) and Khants (76.6%). See also, the Tambet study, cited above. Selkups appear to be outliers, exhibiting only 6.9% haplogroup N, but 66.4% haplogroup Q, indicating a likely language shift of a Q population that assimilated into Uralic culture. According to a 2001 study by Jeffrey Lell, et al., 50.6% of Yupiks (Eskimo-Aleut speakers) are also of haplogroup N, as are 58.3% of Chukchis (Chukotko-Kamchatkan speaker), which supports the Uralo-Siberian hypothesis. I was not able to find any statistics regarding the levels of N among Yukaghir speakers. Although Koryaks speak a Chukotko-Kamchatkan language, they only exhibit 22.2% haplogroup N, and appear to have interbred heavily with Altaic speaking populations. The same is true regarding Itelmens, who only exhibit 11% haplogroup N, and have large components of both Altaic and Slavic admixture (C3 and R1a, respectively).
Origin of the Ainu
It would appear that the Ainu may be remnants of the first migration from Africa to Asia, as they exhibit haplogroup D (specifically D2), which is a sister clade of haplogroup E (common among Nilo-Saharan populations in Africa). Ainu also exhibit a small percentage of haplogroup C3, suggesting admixture from an unrelated population in Siberia, probably the Nivkhs who co-habited with the Ainu on Sakhalin Island prior to the Ainu migration to Japan, and who exhibit exhibit C3 at a rate of 47%. If the Ainu language was found to have any recognizable relation to any of the other Siberian languages, it would have to be a result of language shift, as the Ainu are not believed to be closely related to any other Siberian population, with the exception of the Nivkh admixture mentioned above. While the Ainu are the only population in Siberia with a strong correspondence to haplogroup D, other populations with considerable proportions of haplogroup D include Negrito populations in southern Asia, especially aboriginal Andaman Islanders. Perhaps mt-DNA analysis can explain the difference in appearance between the Ainu and Negrito populations. If the founding population of the Ainu consisted of mostly males, and if those males interbred early-on with females from another Siberian population (such as the Nivkhs), then one would expect to see haplogroup D in terms of Y-DNA, but mostly common Siberian mt-DNA haplogroups.
Haplogroup Q
With the possible exception of the paternal ancestors of the Ainu, it would appear that the earliest settlers of Siberia were populations exhibiting haplogroup Q. In fact, haplogroup Q underlies all of the previously discussed populations in low frequencies (possibly excepting the Ainus, for which I have not found any data relating to haplogroup Q frequency). This leaves us with one haplogroup with which to explain the divergence of the Nivkh, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind languages, all exhibiting high proportions of haplogroup Q. Lell's study puts the Nivkh population at 35% Q. Kets (Dené-Yeniseian) have a 93.7% incidence of Q according to Tambet.
Michael Fortescue has suggested that the Nivkh language may be connected to a Native American language family referred to by Edward Sapir in 1929 as the Mosan language family (a subgroup of the traditional Amerind grouping that includes Salishan, Wakashan, and Chimakuan languages of the Pacific Northwest). According to Wikipedia, however, it has not yet even been proven whether the Mosan language family is in fact monophylectic. I would suggest, that based on Y-DNA evidence, a Paleosiberian language ancestral to the Nivkh, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind languages, was probably once spoken in eastern Siberia, prior to the arrival of the Uralo-Siberian, Altaic and Slavic speakers. I am not suggesting at this point that Amerind is a monophylectic group, and in fact there seems to be some evidence that some Amerind languages are more closely related to Nivkh than they are to other Amerind languages. The key to reconstructing a Paleosiberian proto-language will be first studying, classifying and reconstructing the proto-languages of language families of the Americas, and in particular Joseph Greenburg's illusive Amerind languages.
Additionally, based on the theory that the Americas were populated by Siberians who crossed the Bering Strait, one would expect that languages ancestral to the Eskimo-Aleut, Na-Dené and Amerind language families of the indigenous Americans must have at one time been spoken in Siberia. In 2008, historical linguist Edward Vajda proposed that the Na-Dené and Yeniseian language families are in fact subphyla of a larger Dené-Yeniseian language stock, a theory which has since received wide acceptance. A similar proposal by Michael Fortescue in 1998 suggests that the Uralic, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Yukaghir and Eskimo-Aleut families are in fact branches of a larger Uralo-Siberian language family.
This article explores the genetic differences and similarities between the modern speakers of the Slavic, Uralo-Siberian, Altaic, Nivkh, Ainu, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind language families, with the goal of understanding how, when and why their ancestors came to inhabit the harsh expanse of Siberia.
The Big Picture: Haplogroup K(xLT) vs. Haplogroup C
In terms of Y-DNA haplogroups exhibited by modern inhabitants of Siberia, subclades of haplogroup C and of haplogroup K(xLT) dominate the region. These two distantly related haplogroups (sharing a most recent common ancestor 60,000 years before present) are believed to have spread across Eurasia independently, although they ultimately met in Siberia, forming the basis of the current population of both Siberia and the Americas. A lack of haplogroup C among the speakers of Amerind languages suggests either a bottleneck in the migration through the Americas, or that ancestors of the first Siberians to migrate to the Americas lived in an eastern Siberian region that had thus far been populated by K(xLT), but not C ethnicities. I find the latter to be a more convincing theory, and propose that an examination of the peopling of Siberia should begin with an examination of the ratio of C to K(xLT) among present populations.
Most Recent Arrivals: Slavic Speakers
The spread of Slavic languages throughout Siberia is known to be recent. Based on linguistic research alone, the Slavic languages probably only split off from the Indo-European language family less than 4,000 years ago, and most Slavic languages are not spoken in Siberia, but rather Eastern Europe. Speakers of Slavic languages exhibit a high occurrence of Y-DNA haplogroup R1a, associated with Indo-European languages, a sister clade of R1b which is associated with the Vasconian languages of the Iberian Peninsula. The Slavic people do not generally exhibit haplogroup C. Any population speaking a Slavic language in Siberia would either be the result of recent migration (as would be indicated by the dominance of R1a, or recent adoption of the Slavic language by that population, i.e. language shift. It should be noted, however, that R1a is a clade of K(xLT), indicating a distant relation to some of the other Siberian ethnicities, albeit some 40,000 years before present, and through a most recent common ancestor who probably resided in Central Asia, not Siberia.
Populations With Large Percentages of Haplogroup C
According to a 2004 study by Kristiina Tambet, et al., speakers of Tungusic languages (Evens and Evenks, in this study) exhibited high proportions of haplogroup C. Evens exhibited 74.2% haplogroup C; Evenks exhibited 67.7%. The dominant K(xLT) haplogroup making up the remainder of these populations was haplogroup N, perhaps a result of recent or ancient admixture with Uralo-Siberian speaking populations. A 2005 study by Miroslava Derenko demonstrated that Mongolic speaking Kalmyks exhibited 70.6% haplogroup C; Buryats exhibited 63.9% haplogroup C; and Mongolians exhibited 53.8%. In each of these populations, the next largest component of the Y-DNA mixture consisted of haplogroup N (although Mongolians exhibited a similar proportion of haplogroup O, likely due to a long period of close contact with Chinese populations). Due to the time-depth of the separation of the Tungusic and Mongolic languages from the Altaic family, the haplogroup N component probably represents a uniform superstrata that manifested in Altaic populations soon after Altaic arrival in Siberia. While Turkic speaking Siberian populations exhibit both haplgroups C and N, they exhibit haplogroup C in far lesser proportions, probably due to admixture from various populations as a result of centuries of migrations and reverse migrations along the silk road. The dominant clade of haplogroup C among Altaic speakers is C3, which is believed to have first occurred approximately 12,000 years ago. C3 is also present in over 11% of the hypothetically Macro-Altaic speakers of the Korean language, and the related C1 sister clade, also approximately 12,000 years old, is frequent in hypothetically Macro-Altaic Japanese speakers. Perhaps the Macro-Altaic languages of the Japanese and Korean populations split off from the rest of the Altaic languages very close to the time subclades C1 and C3 occurred. Other Y-DNA admixtures in Japanese and Koreans are not discussed here, as they are not strictly-speaking, Siberian populations. The Ainus of Siberia and Japan, however, will be discussed in a subsequent section of this article. It suffices to say that populations of Proto-Macro-Altaic speakers arrived in Siberia, probably in two migrations (C1 along the coast and C3 further inland), around 10,000 years ago, and soon after, the inland population began interbreeding with earlier Uralo-Siberian populations exhibiting haplogroup N.
Subdivisions of Haplogroup K(xLT)
At the timeframe of around 40,000 years before present, K(xLT) was probably already divided into four subclades, namely M, NO, P and S. Haplogroups M and S are not of particular importance to this discussion, as they generally appear only in island populations of the southern Pacific, such as New Guinea. Approximately 30,000 years ago, haplogroup O split off from NO, and descendants of the individual who first carried that mutation include much of the population of central and southeast Asia (including Sino-Tibetan, Tai-Kadai, Austronesian, Hmong-Mien and Austro-Asiatic speakers). Haplogroup N probably first occurred around 25,000 years before present, and its N1 subclades (primarily N1c) probably arrived in Siberia around 15,000 years ago, and spread across the region via Uralo-Siberian speaking populations. Haplogroup Q (the predominant Siberian subclade of haplogroup P) probably predated haplgroup N in Siberia, and will be discussed subsequently.
Evidence strongly suggests that the progenitor of haplogroup N spoke a language ancestral to the Uralic languages, as haplogroup N is found in high proportions in all areas where Uralic languages are spoken, particularly in populations of Nenets (97.3%), Nganasans (92.1%) and Khants (76.6%). See also, the Tambet study, cited above. Selkups appear to be outliers, exhibiting only 6.9% haplogroup N, but 66.4% haplogroup Q, indicating a likely language shift of a Q population that assimilated into Uralic culture. According to a 2001 study by Jeffrey Lell, et al., 50.6% of Yupiks (Eskimo-Aleut speakers) are also of haplogroup N, as are 58.3% of Chukchis (Chukotko-Kamchatkan speaker), which supports the Uralo-Siberian hypothesis. I was not able to find any statistics regarding the levels of N among Yukaghir speakers. Although Koryaks speak a Chukotko-Kamchatkan language, they only exhibit 22.2% haplogroup N, and appear to have interbred heavily with Altaic speaking populations. The same is true regarding Itelmens, who only exhibit 11% haplogroup N, and have large components of both Altaic and Slavic admixture (C3 and R1a, respectively).
Origin of the Ainu
It would appear that the Ainu may be remnants of the first migration from Africa to Asia, as they exhibit haplogroup D (specifically D2), which is a sister clade of haplogroup E (common among Nilo-Saharan populations in Africa). Ainu also exhibit a small percentage of haplogroup C3, suggesting admixture from an unrelated population in Siberia, probably the Nivkhs who co-habited with the Ainu on Sakhalin Island prior to the Ainu migration to Japan, and who exhibit exhibit C3 at a rate of 47%. If the Ainu language was found to have any recognizable relation to any of the other Siberian languages, it would have to be a result of language shift, as the Ainu are not believed to be closely related to any other Siberian population, with the exception of the Nivkh admixture mentioned above. While the Ainu are the only population in Siberia with a strong correspondence to haplogroup D, other populations with considerable proportions of haplogroup D include Negrito populations in southern Asia, especially aboriginal Andaman Islanders. Perhaps mt-DNA analysis can explain the difference in appearance between the Ainu and Negrito populations. If the founding population of the Ainu consisted of mostly males, and if those males interbred early-on with females from another Siberian population (such as the Nivkhs), then one would expect to see haplogroup D in terms of Y-DNA, but mostly common Siberian mt-DNA haplogroups.
Haplogroup Q
With the possible exception of the paternal ancestors of the Ainu, it would appear that the earliest settlers of Siberia were populations exhibiting haplogroup Q. In fact, haplogroup Q underlies all of the previously discussed populations in low frequencies (possibly excepting the Ainus, for which I have not found any data relating to haplogroup Q frequency). This leaves us with one haplogroup with which to explain the divergence of the Nivkh, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind languages, all exhibiting high proportions of haplogroup Q. Lell's study puts the Nivkh population at 35% Q. Kets (Dené-Yeniseian) have a 93.7% incidence of Q according to Tambet.
Michael Fortescue has suggested that the Nivkh language may be connected to a Native American language family referred to by Edward Sapir in 1929 as the Mosan language family (a subgroup of the traditional Amerind grouping that includes Salishan, Wakashan, and Chimakuan languages of the Pacific Northwest). According to Wikipedia, however, it has not yet even been proven whether the Mosan language family is in fact monophylectic. I would suggest, that based on Y-DNA evidence, a Paleosiberian language ancestral to the Nivkh, Dené-Yeniseian and Amerind languages, was probably once spoken in eastern Siberia, prior to the arrival of the Uralo-Siberian, Altaic and Slavic speakers. I am not suggesting at this point that Amerind is a monophylectic group, and in fact there seems to be some evidence that some Amerind languages are more closely related to Nivkh than they are to other Amerind languages. The key to reconstructing a Paleosiberian proto-language will be first studying, classifying and reconstructing the proto-languages of language families of the Americas, and in particular Joseph Greenburg's illusive Amerind languages.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Classification of the Minoan Language
A portion of Andrew Oh-Willeke's analysis in his recent blog post entitled Notes On Ancient European Y-DNA and Ancient European Cultures caught my attention:
While researching the subject, I came upon a linguistics doctoral thesis entitled The Structure of the Minoan Language by Gareth Owens of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which proposes that the Minoan language was in fact an Indo-European language, and likely belongs to a separate branch of the language family than any of the living Indo-European languages. I found his reasoning to be quite convincing, as it is based not only on lexical similarities that could be explained by borrowing, but also on morphological similarities, including masculine, feminine and neuter noun declension patterns. Owens had studied the Minoan Language for approximately 15 years at the time this paper was written (2004), and stated:
The Minoans had a script that probably recounted a language rather than a proto-language in a somewhat phonetic way, but it has not been deciphered and the extant Minoan Linear A script appears to consist mostly of bureaucratic records of ration programs, taxes and religious sacrifices. My own impression is that Minoan bore a striking similarity to the non-Indo-European language of the Hattic people whose language was superceded by the Indo-European Hittites in the time period from ca. 2000 BCE to 1500 BCE, by which time Hattic had ceased to be used outside religious ceremonies.I found this interesting for two reasons. First off, I having only researched living languages in connection with my DNA articles thus far, I wasn't aware of this extinct, unclassified, potentially non-Indo-European language attested in Europe (on the island of Crete). Secondly, the idea that it "has not been deciphered" sounded intriguing.
While researching the subject, I came upon a linguistics doctoral thesis entitled The Structure of the Minoan Language by Gareth Owens of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, which proposes that the Minoan language was in fact an Indo-European language, and likely belongs to a separate branch of the language family than any of the living Indo-European languages. I found his reasoning to be quite convincing, as it is based not only on lexical similarities that could be explained by borrowing, but also on morphological similarities, including masculine, feminine and neuter noun declension patterns. Owens had studied the Minoan Language for approximately 15 years at the time this paper was written (2004), and stated:
It has now been possible to discuss and offer an interpretation, both etymologically and morphologically, for 50 words that constitute the Lexicon of the Minoan language. Linear A inscriptions, when read with Linear B sound values, and when interpreted in the Minoan cultural context, make sense as an Indo-European language of the Second Millennium B.C. . . I would place the Minoan language between Greek and Armenian as a distinct branch of the Indo-European family of languages, with whatever caveat we must keep in mind of what surprises scientific research may have for us in the future.With respect to the Y-DNA haplogroups of the Minoan speakers, according to an article entitled Middle Eastern and European mtDNA lineages characterize populations from eastern Crete by Laisel Martinez, Sheyla Mirabal, Javier R. Luis and Rene J. Herrera, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, as quoted in Mathilda's Anthropology Blog:
Haplogroups J2a1h-M319 (8.8%) and J2a1b1-M92 (2.6%) [among the current population on Crete] were associated with the Minoan culture linked to a late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age migration to Crete ca. 3100 BCE from North-Western/Western Anatolia and Syro-Palestine (ancient Canaan, Levant, and pre-Akkadian Anatolia); Aegean prehistorians link the date 3100 BCE to the origins of the Minoan culture on Crete.Interestingly, y-DNA haplogroup J (common in the Caucasus, ancestral to both J2a1h and J2a1b1), along with haplogroup I (common where Germanic languages are spoken) are believed to correspond with the early Cro-Magnon settlement of Europe, while haplogroup R1a is commonly associated with the Indo-European expansion. Hopefully, further deciphering of the Minoan language inscriptions will shed light on the apparent divergence between the genetic and linguistic conclusions reached regarding the Minoan people.
Monday, November 7, 2011
New Evidence Relating to the Ancestry of Lars Magnus Winblad
Pictured is my great-great grandfather John Edward Winblad, a native of Sweden, son of Anton Julius Winblad, grandson of Lars Magnus Winblad. John was the maternal grandfather of my maternal grandmother Helen Eloise (Freudenberg) Borland-Brindley. While no direct paternal descendants of John have yet tested their y-DNA (most of his living descendants are either female or descend from his daughters' lines), today I stumbled upon a record that might provide some clues as to the origin of my Winblad family.
Some time ago, my cousin Richard Norton commissioned research on Anton Julius Winblad, our earliest known Winblad ancestor at the time, and a hired genealogist in Sweden revealed records indicating Anton was the son of a Lars Magnus Winblad, born June 3, 1794 or 1797 in Vingåker, Södermanland, Sweden. No birth or baptismal record has been found for Lars. A year or two ago, I found a user-submitted family tree on the LDS website FamilySearch that included an Erick Vingblad born December 12, 1798 in Vingåker married to a woman by the name of Britta Ehrsdatter. See here. Suspecting Lars and Erick were brothers, I searched for Erick's marriage record, and eventually (as more records have been added to the FamilySearch collection) found reference to the marriage record of Erick and Britta. See here. Erick is listed as "Eric Winbladh," and Britta as "Brita Ersdr." The marriage took place July 1, 1821 in Vastra (West) Vingåker.
Today, I spent several hours looking thorugh the online baptismal records of Vingåker for Lars' baptism, but to no avail. However, I found a new piece of circumstantial evidence that might lead to a major breakthrough in tracing back my Winblad family. The baptismal records use patronyms, not surnames, so there are no Winblads listed. However, I found that the only Eric(k) whose birth was recorded in Vingåker on December 12, 1798 was a child christened as "Eric Nilsdr." The record clearly states that Eric was a male, although his patronymic name indicates "daughter of Nils." Eric's father is not listed in the record, which is highly unusual, but his mother is listed as "Anna Nilsdr." Perhaps the father of Eric, and presumably Lars, either died or left the family prior to Eric's birth. The baptismal record for Eric can be accessed here, although a scanned image of the record is not yet available online.
Eric is a pretty common Swedish name, and so the likelihood of more than one Eric having been born in Vingåker on a given day should not be discounted where a surname cannot be confirmed. However, even today, the population of Vingåker is approximately 4300, after a considerable expansion in the mid-1800s due to Vingåker's location along a railroad line. Even assuming the population of Vingåker was 4300, 200 years before present, only 2150 would have been females, and far less than 1,000 of those females would have given birth in 1798. Statistically, there would have been less than three births per day, so the odds of more than one child named Eric having been born in Vingåker on December 12, 1798 is unlikely. However, there is no definitive proof that Lars and Eric were brothers, and to prove such a contention, y-DNA samples are needed from each line for examination. Also, this new piece of evidence only tells that Lars' mother might have been Anna Nilsdotter, and does not provide any other family information that could be used to trace the family back further. In and around Vingåker, for example, in the 20 to 40 years prior to the births of Lars and Eric, there are many marriages recorded for women named Anna who were daughters of fathers named Nils.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Mt-DNA Matches
This past year, my cousin Richard Norton and I had our mitochondrial DNA tested for genealogical purposes. The results provide information about my direct maternal lineage, and about my father's direct maternal lineage (since Richard and my father were sons of two sisters, Selma and Helen Freudenberg). A brief analysis of the results of each test follows:
My Direct Maternal Line
Pictured is my great-grandmother Eva Rice. Eva is my earliest known direct maternal ancestor. She was born around October 31, 1883 in Lithuania. Her name at birth was Ieva Daukšaitė, shortened to Eva Douse after immigrating to the United States. She took the surname Rice after marrying my great-grandfather Peter Rice, a descendant of the Lithuanian Račius family. Eva's father was Jonas Daukša. Her mother, whose name is not currently known, died in Lithuania, probably giving birth to Eva. For a full biography of Eva Rice, see my previous article on Familypedia.
Based on a sample of my mitochondrial DNA, Eva was of mt-DNA haplogroup T2. My closest mt-DNA match (perfect match to my HVR1 and HVR2) is with an individual from Bulgaria, whose earliest known maternal ancestor had the Slavic maiden name Fiyodorova. My next two closest matches (perfect match to my HVR1, but they did not test their HVR2) are with individuals whose earliest known maternal ancestors are of Polish origin, with maiden names Borek and Stefineski. The common maternal ancestor of all four lineages was likely a woman who lived in Poland or the Ukrane less than 2000 years ago. Although Lithuanians speak a Baltic language, it is not surprising that a person from Lithuania would have Slavic, and particularly Polish ancestry. Based on y-chromosomal DNA studies of Baltic populations, 38% of Lithuanians are of y-DNA haplogroup R1a, as are 55% of the population of Poland. (Another 42% of Lithuanians are of y-DNA haplogroup N, indicating relationship to Uralic speakers.)
Mt-DNA haplogroup T (ancestral to T2) likely arrived in Poland long before Indo-European y-DNA haplogroup R1a, as the incidence of haplogroup T corresponds more directly with R1 in Europe, generally, than it does with either of its R1a or earlier arriving R1b subclades individually (which, for reasons beyond the scope of this article, does not imply that mt-DNA haplogroup T and y-DNA haplogroup R1 are necessarily closely related).
The individual woman who first had the mutation that defined mt-DNA haplogroup T, my direct maternal ancestor, has been given the nickname "Tara" by geneticists. Tara probably lived in the Near East, more than 45,000 years ago. Tara was also a direct maternal ancestor of outlaw Jesse James, and Tsar Nicholas II. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy places haplogroup T2 (shared by Jesse James, Tsar Nicholas II and myself) in Europe sometime between the late Stone Age and 8000 BC.
My Father's Direct Maternal Line
This is a photograph of my great-grandmother Maria Freudenberg (1895-1987), the common direct maternal ancestor of my father and my cousin Richard Norton who shared his mt-DNA results with me. Maria was born Maria Elizabeth Winblad. Maria's mother was Salmine Sofie Severine Olsdatter (1862-1914), who was born in Farsund, Vest-Agder, Norway. Salmine's mother was Thea Johanne Tostensdatter (1825-1865), born in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway. Thea's mother was Johanne Jacobsdatter (1795-?), born in Eigersund, Rogaland, Norway. Johanne's mother was Gitlaug Tollaksdatter (1773-1806), born in Hå, Rogaland, Norway. Gitlaug's mother was Ingeborg Pedersdatter (c1747-?), believed to have been born in Eigersund.
Based on a sample of my cousin's mitochondrial DNA, Ingeborg Pedersdatter was of mt-DNA haplogroup W. Her closest mt-DNA match (perfect match to Richard's HVR1 and HVR2) is with an individual whose earliest known maternal ancestor was a woman named Karen Knudsdatter. Karen was married January 13, 1734 in Nord-Aurdal, Oppland, Sweden, to Enblebret Tostensen. Statistically speaking, Ingeborg Pedersdatter and Karen Knudsdatter are likely to share a common direct maternal ancestor, perhaps 60 generations back, somewhere in Europe. However, the close proximity between Eigersund and Nord-Aurdal (approximately 300 miles as the crow flies) suggests that the most recent common mt-DNA mutation probably occurred much closer to the present, and specifically in a woman who resided in Norway.
My Direct Maternal Line
Pictured is my great-grandmother Eva Rice. Eva is my earliest known direct maternal ancestor. She was born around October 31, 1883 in Lithuania. Her name at birth was Ieva Daukšaitė, shortened to Eva Douse after immigrating to the United States. She took the surname Rice after marrying my great-grandfather Peter Rice, a descendant of the Lithuanian Račius family. Eva's father was Jonas Daukša. Her mother, whose name is not currently known, died in Lithuania, probably giving birth to Eva. For a full biography of Eva Rice, see my previous article on Familypedia.
Based on a sample of my mitochondrial DNA, Eva was of mt-DNA haplogroup T2. My closest mt-DNA match (perfect match to my HVR1 and HVR2) is with an individual from Bulgaria, whose earliest known maternal ancestor had the Slavic maiden name Fiyodorova. My next two closest matches (perfect match to my HVR1, but they did not test their HVR2) are with individuals whose earliest known maternal ancestors are of Polish origin, with maiden names Borek and Stefineski. The common maternal ancestor of all four lineages was likely a woman who lived in Poland or the Ukrane less than 2000 years ago. Although Lithuanians speak a Baltic language, it is not surprising that a person from Lithuania would have Slavic, and particularly Polish ancestry. Based on y-chromosomal DNA studies of Baltic populations, 38% of Lithuanians are of y-DNA haplogroup R1a, as are 55% of the population of Poland. (Another 42% of Lithuanians are of y-DNA haplogroup N, indicating relationship to Uralic speakers.)
Mt-DNA haplogroup T (ancestral to T2) likely arrived in Poland long before Indo-European y-DNA haplogroup R1a, as the incidence of haplogroup T corresponds more directly with R1 in Europe, generally, than it does with either of its R1a or earlier arriving R1b subclades individually (which, for reasons beyond the scope of this article, does not imply that mt-DNA haplogroup T and y-DNA haplogroup R1 are necessarily closely related).
The individual woman who first had the mutation that defined mt-DNA haplogroup T, my direct maternal ancestor, has been given the nickname "Tara" by geneticists. Tara probably lived in the Near East, more than 45,000 years ago. Tara was also a direct maternal ancestor of outlaw Jesse James, and Tsar Nicholas II. The International Society of Genetic Genealogy places haplogroup T2 (shared by Jesse James, Tsar Nicholas II and myself) in Europe sometime between the late Stone Age and 8000 BC.
My Father's Direct Maternal Line
This is a photograph of my great-grandmother Maria Freudenberg (1895-1987), the common direct maternal ancestor of my father and my cousin Richard Norton who shared his mt-DNA results with me. Maria was born Maria Elizabeth Winblad. Maria's mother was Salmine Sofie Severine Olsdatter (1862-1914), who was born in Farsund, Vest-Agder, Norway. Salmine's mother was Thea Johanne Tostensdatter (1825-1865), born in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway. Thea's mother was Johanne Jacobsdatter (1795-?), born in Eigersund, Rogaland, Norway. Johanne's mother was Gitlaug Tollaksdatter (1773-1806), born in Hå, Rogaland, Norway. Gitlaug's mother was Ingeborg Pedersdatter (c1747-?), believed to have been born in Eigersund.
Based on a sample of my cousin's mitochondrial DNA, Ingeborg Pedersdatter was of mt-DNA haplogroup W. Her closest mt-DNA match (perfect match to Richard's HVR1 and HVR2) is with an individual whose earliest known maternal ancestor was a woman named Karen Knudsdatter. Karen was married January 13, 1734 in Nord-Aurdal, Oppland, Sweden, to Enblebret Tostensen. Statistically speaking, Ingeborg Pedersdatter and Karen Knudsdatter are likely to share a common direct maternal ancestor, perhaps 60 generations back, somewhere in Europe. However, the close proximity between Eigersund and Nord-Aurdal (approximately 300 miles as the crow flies) suggests that the most recent common mt-DNA mutation probably occurred much closer to the present, and specifically in a woman who resided in Norway.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
My Ancestors From Farsund, Norway
Generation 1: Salmine Sofie Severine Olsdatter immigrated 1884 to New York City from Farsund, Vest-Agder, Norway, shortly after her marriage to John Edward Winblad in 1882. John Winblad was a native of Sweden. Salmine is believed to have been born on the Brækne farm, near Vanse, Farsund. Her baptismal record indicates a birth date of March 27, 1862, and parents Ole Mattias Pedersen and Tea Johanne Torstensdatter. Salmine was baptized in Lista (a former municipality which includes Vanse), June 8, 1862. By 1900, Salmine resided in Jersey City, New Jersey. She eventually returned to Norway, where she died December 18, 1914.
Generation 2: Ole Mathias Pedersen was born November 14, 1822 on the Log farm near Herad, Farsund. He was baptized November 17 in Herad. His baptismal record indicates parents Peder Andreas Hansen and Maren Sophia Olsdatter. Ole married Thea Johanne Tostensdatter from nearby Vetteland, Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, on October 8, 1848. The marriage record confirms the name of Ole's father, i.e. Peder Andreas Hansen. Ole died August 24, 1914 in Klungeland, Vanse. By occupation, Ole was a baker.
Generation 3: Peder Andreas Hansen, also of Log, was baptized January 3, 1790 in Herad. His baptismal record only lists his father, Hans Hansen, although further research has shown that his mother was Pernille Helene Pedersdatter of Meberg, Kvinesdal, Vest-Agder. Peder married Maren Sophie Olsdatter of Gullestad, Kvinesdal, December 28, 1811 in Herad.
Generation 4: Hans Hansen, also of Log, was born December 4, 1749, and baptized in Herad, December 5, 1749. Hans' parents were Hans Hansen and Ingri Ingvorsdatter, both of Farsund.
Generation 5: Baptismal records for both Hans Hansen and Ingri Ingvorsdatter have been located, indicating that Hans Hansen was baptized May 15, 1729 in Herad, son of Hans Larsen, and that Ingri Ingvorsdatter was baptized November 25, 1726 in Herad, daughter of Ingvor Rassmusen. At this point, little is known about Hans Larsen, Ingvor Rassmusen, or their wives. However, searching through baptismal records in Herad has revealed the names of additional children. In addition to Hans Hansen (1729), Hans Larsen was also father to Peder Hansen (1727), Johannes Hansen (1731) and Christen Hansen (1734). In addition to Ingri Ingvorsdatter (1726), Ingvor Rasmusen was also father to Rasmus Ingvorsen (1730) and Engel Ingvorsdatter (1734).
Generation 6: Ingvor Rasmusen had two known siblings, both listed as children of "Rasmus of Log" in their baptismal records, Guri Rasmusdatter (1696-1697) and Hans Rasmussen (1698-1699). Neither of these siblings survived to maturity.
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