Blood of the Isles : exploring the genetic roots of our tribal history

Bryan Sykes, the world's first genetic archaeologist, takes us on a journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland, to reveal how our tribal history still colours the country today. In 54BC Julius Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. His was the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been there? When the Romans eventually left five hundred years later, they were succeeded by invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic legacy of the Celts, or have very little effect? After two decades tracing the genetic origins of peoples from all over the world, Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a major research programme, the first of its kind, he set out to test the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers from across Britain and Ireland with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past? Are the modern people of the Isles a delicious genetic cocktail? Or did the invaders keep mostly to themselves forming separate genetic layers within the Isles? As his findings came in, Bryan Sykes discovered that the genetic evidence revealed often very different stories to the conventional accounts coming from history and archaeology. Blood of the Isles reveals the nature of our genetic make-up as never before and what this says about our attitudes to ourselves, each other, and to our past. It is a gripping story that will fascinate and surprise with its conclusions. Takes us on a journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland. This book looks at a research programme, set out to test the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers, with the specific aim of answering this question: What is our modern genetic make-up? The evidence revealed often very different stories to the conventional accounts coming from history. Bryan Sykes, the world's first genetic archaeologist, takes us on a journey around the family tree of Britain and Ireland, to reveal how our tribal history still colours the country today. In 54BC, Julius Caesar launched the first Roman invasion of Britain. His was the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been there? When the Roman eventually left five hundred years later, they were succeeded by invasions of Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic legacy of the Celts, or have very little effect? After two decades tracing the genetic origins of people from all over the world, Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a major research programme, the first of its kind, he and his team at Oxford University set out to test the DNA of over 10,000 volunteers from across Britain and Ireland with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past? Where are today's Celtic genes? Did Vikings only rape and pillage, or settle with their families? In 54 B.C. Julius Caesar launched the Roman invasion of Britain. His was the first detailed account of the Celtic tribes that inhabited the Isles. But where had they come from and how long had they been there? When the Romans eventually left five hundred years later, they were succeeded by Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Did these successive invasions obliterate the genetic legacy of the Celts, or did they have very little effect? After two decades tracing the genetic origins of peoples from all over the world, Bryan Sykes has now turned the spotlight on his own back yard. In a major research programme, the first of its kind, he and his team at Oxford University set out to test the DNA of over ten thousand volunteers from across Britain and Ireland with the specific aim of answering this very question: what is our modern genetic make-up and what does it tell us of our tribal past? Where are today¿s Celtic genes? Did Vikings only rape and pillage, or did they settle with their families? And what of the genetic legacy of the Saxons and the Normans? Are the modern people of the Isles a delicious genetic cocktail? Or did the invaders keep mostly to themselves, forming separate genetic layers within the Isles? And where do you fit in? - BOOK JACKET Blood of the Isles - Front Cover Author Biography Also by Bryan Sykes Title Page Printer's Imprint Dedication CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Map - Regional Borders Map - Archaeological Sites Prologue 1. Twelve Thousand Years of Solitude 2. Who Do We Think We Are? 3. The Resurgent Celts 4. The Skull Snatchers [photoplates set 1] Map - Index of Negrescence 5. The Blood Bankers 6. The Silent Messengers 7. The Nature of the Evidence 8. Ireland 9. The DNA of Ireland 10. Scotland 11. The Picts 12. The DNA of Scotland 13. Wales [photoplates set 2] 14. The DNA of Wales 15. England 16. Saxons, Danes, Vikings and Normans 17. The DNA of England 18. The Blood of the Isles Appendix Maps - Clan Distribution: Maternal Maps - Clan Distribution: Paternal Index Publisher's Book Notices Rear Cover Originally published by Bantam Press / Transworld Publishers, a division of Random House Group, 2006; this the Corgi / Transworld Publishers, Random House Group, edition published 2007.