Recently, the second book on the Belgium DNA project has been published (ref 1). In total, 881 males were analysed at the Y-chromosomal level, which is a major achievement for an area less than 100 square miles (see also ref 2). About 10% (90) of the predominantly Flanders population analysed appear R-U152 positive and thus may have its roots in the Hallstatt or La Tène culture (proto-Celtic). Whether “star” or “plus” remains to determined, since no further subclading has been performed yet.
A. Map of the Northern part of Gallia (about 100 AD) displaying the Belgae area and the respective tribes.
B. A google map displaying the most ancient ancestor of R-U152 members as analyzed by the Belgium DNA project, FT-DNA of others (y-search). Blue: no further subclading yet. Red/orange: L20+. Yellow: L2+, Z367+, L20*. Pink: Z36+, Purple: U152*
C: Relative spatial distribution of the R-U152 community in the Belgian area.
(1) The regional results can be summarized as follows (North Sea >>> Germany):
West Flanders: U152 = 14 (10,8%)
East Flanders: U152 = 13 (12,3%)
Brabant : U152= 47 (9,3% of 507 samples in total)
Limburg: U152= 7 (10%)
Based on these results, no clear U152 gradient could be detected.
(2) For each member, a genealogy has been included and most date back to the early 17th century or even further back in time. Typically, only a limited number of close DNA relatives (GD 6 or less) were found in the Belgian U152 community, as compared to the other haplotypes.
One of the questions which raised into my mind is whether further subclading of the Belgian U152 community using L20, L2, Z36 etc. could link to the individuals to specific tribes such as the Menapii, the Nervii or the Eburones to mention a few? (ref 4) In addition, will an understanding of the U152 subhaplotype in Belgium/low countries - due to its high resolution at a microlevel- also contribute to understanding R-U152 migration patterns as a whole?
European cousins of Dierick van Roucourt
Currently, the cousins of Dierick van Roucourt, born in the Halen region (Belgium), are 16 R-U152 members which belong to the Z36+ group (R-U152 FT-DNA). This group is now officially integrated into the ISOGG haplotree 2011 as subhaplotype R1b1a2a1a1b3d (weblink). The geographical distribution of Diericks' ancient cousins across Europe is displayed hereafter. Major archeological sites in Switserland (La Tène period: 500 BC-0) and Austria (Hallstatt period: 1000-500 BC) are also depicted.
Z36+ in Europe weergeven op een grotere kaart
By using the TMRCA calculations as described by Janzen (ref 5), the current age of the Z36+ point mutation is estimated at 3500 years before present (+/- 500 years, as of December 2014). In the near future, more samples will be analyzed which may further shed light on the distribution of this U152 subclade with a most likely origin in the Hall Statt culture (1000 - 500 BC).
Citations
Ref 1: DNA Belgie. DNA-Project 2010, Belgium excluding the Duchy of Brabant. Marc Van den Cloot et al (Lier, 2011). ISBN 978 90 804 30 525.
Ref 2: DNA Brabant. DNA-Project 2009, Duchy of Brabant. Marc Van den Cloot et al (Lier, 2010). ISBN 978 90 804 30 501.
Ref 3: Part of GALLIA, from "The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography".The Project Gutenberg
Ref 4: De Oude Belgen (The ancient Belgians). Udo Janssen (The House of Books, 2007). ISBN 978 90 433 08 662
Ref 5: Instructions for use of the linked Excel spreadsheet to calculate ages of subclades using the variance method. Tim Janzen MD. http://www.timjanzen.com/dna.html
A. Map of the Northern part of Gallia (about 100 AD) displaying the Belgae area and the respective tribes.
B. A google map displaying the most ancient ancestor of R-U152 members as analyzed by the Belgium DNA project, FT-DNA of others (y-search). Blue: no further subclading yet. Red/orange: L20+. Yellow: L2+, Z367+, L20*. Pink: Z36+, Purple: U152*
C: Relative spatial distribution of the R-U152 community in the Belgian area.
(1) The regional results can be summarized as follows (North Sea >>> Germany):
West Flanders: U152 = 14 (10,8%)
East Flanders: U152 = 13 (12,3%)
Brabant : U152= 47 (9,3% of 507 samples in total)
Limburg: U152= 7 (10%)
Based on these results, no clear U152 gradient could be detected.
(2) For each member, a genealogy has been included and most date back to the early 17th century or even further back in time. Typically, only a limited number of close DNA relatives (GD 6 or less) were found in the Belgian U152 community, as compared to the other haplotypes.
One of the questions which raised into my mind is whether further subclading of the Belgian U152 community using L20, L2, Z36 etc. could link to the individuals to specific tribes such as the Menapii, the Nervii or the Eburones to mention a few? (ref 4) In addition, will an understanding of the U152 subhaplotype in Belgium/low countries - due to its high resolution at a microlevel- also contribute to understanding R-U152 migration patterns as a whole?
European cousins of Dierick van Roucourt
Currently, the cousins of Dierick van Roucourt, born in the Halen region (Belgium), are 16 R-U152 members which belong to the Z36+ group (R-U152 FT-DNA). This group is now officially integrated into the ISOGG haplotree 2011 as subhaplotype R1b1a2a1a1b3d (weblink). The geographical distribution of Diericks' ancient cousins across Europe is displayed hereafter. Major archeological sites in Switserland (La Tène period: 500 BC-0) and Austria (Hallstatt period: 1000-500 BC) are also depicted.
Z36+ in Europe weergeven op een grotere kaart
By using the TMRCA calculations as described by Janzen (ref 5), the current age of the Z36+ point mutation is estimated at 3500 years before present (+/- 500 years, as of December 2014). In the near future, more samples will be analyzed which may further shed light on the distribution of this U152 subclade with a most likely origin in the Hall Statt culture (1000 - 500 BC).
Citations
Ref 1: DNA Belgie. DNA-Project 2010, Belgium excluding the Duchy of Brabant. Marc Van den Cloot et al (Lier, 2011). ISBN 978 90 804 30 525.
Ref 2: DNA Brabant. DNA-Project 2009, Duchy of Brabant. Marc Van den Cloot et al (Lier, 2010). ISBN 978 90 804 30 501.
Ref 3: Part of GALLIA, from "The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography".The Project Gutenberg
Ref 4: De Oude Belgen (The ancient Belgians). Udo Janssen (The House of Books, 2007). ISBN 978 90 433 08 662
Ref 5: Instructions for use of the linked Excel spreadsheet to calculate ages of subclades using the variance method. Tim Janzen MD. http://www.timjanzen.com/dna.html
