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Celticity: Migration or Fashion? Samantha Leggett University of Sydney, Australia Samantha is currently studying a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts double degree at the University of Sydney Australia! Conse"uently She has a broad range of interests in history archaeology genetics immunology and anatomy# combining all of these in my undergraduate studies in an interdisci$linary a$$roach! Samantha has %ust com$leted the anatomy &rosection 'or(sho$ at The University of Sydney and also )or( in a diagnostic immunology laboratory! Abstract The definition of the Celts and Celtic is at the core of Celtic Studies, either in antiquity or the early medieval period. The modern pop culture understanding of the people, and their culture is very different to the evidence from ancient times! ho"ever even "hen e#amining archaeological sites and the "ritings of the ancient $ree%s and &omans "e find discontinuities. The archaeological evidence sho"s a migration of culture from the Celtic homeland in central continental 'urope, a myriad of (alstatt and La T)ne artefacts, stone henges and circles, scattered across $aul and into the *ritish +sles ,the home of the modern day Celts-. The historical record sees a distinction .et"een the /eltoi0$auls and the tri.es of the *ritish +sles, ho"ever similarities .et"een them are apparent. The linguistic evidence is unclear, sho"ing some relationships .et"een the *ritish Celts and the ancient /eltoi, .ut nothing definitive. The genetic evidence gives the clearest ans"er to the question 1Celticity2 3igration or 4ashion56, that the Celts of the *ritish +sles are not genetically related to the original ancient /eltoi ,not recently-. This paper ultimately sho"s that Celticity "as due to the spread of fashion and not an actual migration of people from the Celtic homeland.

Introduction 7ho "ere or are the Celts and ho" are they to .e defined5 This is the .iggest question of Celtic Studies. Surely the Celts e#isted ,and might still today-, .ut it is difficult to find truth amongst the legends, modern misunderstandings and the 8hard9 evidence ,"hich is often contradictory-. This paper attempts to synthesise availa.le evidence to address the theories of invasion and cultural overlay in terms of the spread of 8Celticity9 during antiquity and to determine if the ancient Celts e#isted as a definitive, genetically distinct peoples, or if "hat has .een perceived as 8Celtic9 archaeological evidence is a localised art form "hich "as popularised and spread across parts of 'urope. This paper ultimately concludes that it is

Ancient and Classical

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indeed fashion not migration that led to the spread of 8Celticity9 in antiquity, specifically in regards to the *ritish +sles, the home of the modern day Celt.

The Historical View This section is .rief o"ing to the fact that most of the sources a.out the ancient Celts "ere $reco &oman and "hile offering some useful information for this paper do not give much insight into the migration or fashion de.ate! also remem.ering that they sho" only the classical 3editerranean vie"point.: 7hat is important for the de.ate, from sources such as ;osidonius, is the geographical conte#t and physical descriptions of the Celts0/eltoi. 2 According to the $ree%s the 8/eltoi9 lived in many separate tri.es across mainland 'urope, spreading from the &hine and <anu.e into $aul .ut there is never mention of the /eltoi .eing in *ritannia.= >ur current 1historiographical tradition? regularly refers to the movements of people as agents of historical change6 particularly at the time in the +ron Age and early medieval periods "hen the mainland Celts ,despite .eing &omanised they still maintained much of the La T)ne material culture- "ere said to have invaded or migrated to the *ritish +sles.@ The physical descriptions give us a mi#ed pool of possi.le genetic traits to dra" from, "hich suggests they "ere not, at least on the continent, one genetic group! certain genes and traits are characteristic of specific groups e.g. red hair "as a trait developed in Scandinavia "ith the Vi%ings, or microcephaly is predominantly found in the gene pool of Aapan. Therefore if a group has a mi#ture of such traits, they sho" inter.reeding .et"een groupsB. (o"ever, this does not mean they "eren9t a cohesive cultural unit. The

1 A.V.S. 3ega" and 3.&. 3ega", 1Ancient Celts and 3odern 'thnicity6, Anti"uity, no. CD ,:EEF-2 :CC 2 A.A. Tierney, 1The Celtic 'thnography of ;osidonius6, &roceedings of the *oyal +rish Academy, no. FDC
,:EFD-2 2@C 2CB 3 ;atric% Sims 7illiams, 1$enetics, Linguistics and ;rehistory2 Thin%ing *ig and Thin%ing Straight6, Anti"uity, no. C2 ,:EEG-2 BDB B2G. 4 Lynette >lson, 1$enetic 'vidence and the 'arly 3edievalist6, Journal of the Australian ,arly Medieval Association, no. @ ,2DDG-2 2:=. 5 Anthony A.4. $riffiths et al., 1;opulation $enetics,6 in +ntroduction to -enetic Analysis ,He" Ior%2 7.(. 4reeman and Company, 2D:2-, FDE

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.iggest o.stacle in deciphering the ancient historical record is quite simply that 1the Celts "rote no history.6F

The Linguistic Story The linguistic side of the de.ate is .rief o"ing to the often confusing and contradictory accounts! ho"ever almost all the sources used for this paper "hether, historical, archaeological, genetic or linguistic mentioned the clear connection .et"een the ancient languages of the +rish, 7elsh, Cornish and Scottish "ithin the +sles and also to the ancient languages of $aul. The linguistic evidence is hard to match up "ith e#act migrations or archaeological cultures and it is an imprecise science, "ith languages not evolving at a constant rate. +t relies on comparing "ords across languages, "hich causes pro.lems for ;ictish, "hich appears to .e non +ndo 'uropean, or non proto +ndo 'uropean, "hich the other Celtic0$allic languages are.CAn e#planation for this discrepancy "ith archaeological cultures and0or genetics and linguistics is argued quite forci.ly .y Sims 7illiams! he argues that you cannot equate languages "ith any one group and that languages are not al"ays ancestral. A transfer of language does not require a migration of the people to happen, even in ancient times. G

The Archaeological Record: La Tne and Halstatt, Henges and More The art styles of (alstatt and La T)ne and the material cultures they are associated "ith are almost completely synonymous "ith Celticity in archaeology, or at the very least sho" close contact "ith the 8Celtic9 manufacturers. Cremin is convinced from the spread of 8Celtic9 settlements and La T)ne artefacts that the 8/eltoi9 from central 'urope and $aul did migrate across 'urope, to"ards the 'ast and also into the *ritish +sles. The archaeological 6 Aedeen Cremin, The Celts in ,uro$e, ,Sydney, HS72 The University of Sydney J Centre for Celtic Studies,
:EE2-, F. 7 See note = a.ove. 8 See note = a.ove Cremin, The Celts in ,uro$e Ancient and Classical

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and historical evidence of a spread into Tur%ey and its surrounds seems to .e undisputed, so this paper "ill instead focus on the supposed "estern migration across the *ritish Channel. According to one of Cremin9s maps most of 'urope "as classified as part of Celtica in the second century *C, she seems to equate Celticity "ith language, "hich does .y most definitions include *ritain and +reland, the almost perfectly correlated spread of La T)ne o.Kects ,summarised in a map- and lifestyle. E (o"ever +reland has .arely any (alstatt or La T)ne o.Kects so can they really .e Celtic if material culture is the sole definition5 Surely this "ould sho" that people did not migrate, successfully to +reland if they did not .ring their "ares "ith them! .ut yet they share linguistic, religious and some genetic similarities "ith 8Celts9 in *ritain and +.eria. Lifestyle and language can .e similar "ithout the same ethnic group or 8civiliLation9, spread of ideas and items come Kust as easily through trade, and the "ay people live depend on resources availa.le, ho" advanced their technology is, climate etc. 4or instance you "ouldn9t say that the ancient 'gyptians and 3esopotamians "ere the same group, due to all the common factors they share. There is an interesting point in 3ega" and 3ega" from >tto (erman 4rey a.out grave goods! "hich is valid for this argument since most La T)ne archaeological finds are from .urials.:D Aust .ecause someone has La T)ne grave goods does not mean they "ere Celtic, li%e his analogy that Kust .ecause someone has Coca Cola and a .ase.all cap does not mean they are American. 7hat this does mean is that 1it indicated the presence or influence of people "ho first produced6 the Celtic grave goods. :: This "ould mean cultural overlay0fashion is the agent of cultural change into 8Celticity9. There is also the argument that there is no sense of Celtic unity in ancient times! firstly since they did not produce their o"n "ritings "e cannot %no" this for certain and as discussed .efore, the $ree% and &oman sources carry their o"n .ias. Secondly the archaeology does not e#plicitly sho" a lac% of unity, in fact quite the opposite. All of the so called 8Celtic9 areas on Cremin9s map share language, culture, customs and art ,things "hich 9 +.id., 2B,map- and C. 10 A.V.S. 3ega" and 3.&. 3ega", 1Ancient Celts and 3odern 'thnicity6 :GD. 11 See note E a.ove 4

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&enfre" says "e are allo"ed to apply the term 1Celtic6 to-. There is no dou.t that the Celts did e#ist in the archaeological record, at least sho"ing unity of material culture and at some level language even if they "ere not a 8nation9 or 8polity9 li%e in $reece or +taly. They appear to dra" strong parallels "ith the ancient 3esopotamians, "ho "ere definitely not a united group .ut shared linguistic, material and religious cultures. Torcs also seem to follo" this 3espotamian pattern of culture. The torc is an ancient sym.ol of a Celt or $aul, they are found in classical te#ts, statues, carvings and as part of grave goods. Cremin says that 1all Celts, "hether men or "omen, "ere said to "ear one6 as "hat she sees as a deli.erate act of identifying their Celticity. :2 (o"ever "e %no" that other cultures had very similar items so they cannot .e a purely Celtic invention, .ut even though other cultures have similar Ke"ellery, it does not retract from the significance of it to the Celts as the mar% of a "arrior. The appearance of the torc does sho" continuity through the regions descri.ed .y Cremin, perhaps it is not migration, .ut a gold torc could definitely .e called fashion.:= +f the artefacts cannot give us an ans"er, perhaps stone circles and henges "ill. Stone henges themselves are meant to .e 1e#clusive to the *ritish +sles6, "hilst not strictly true most stone circles and alignments appearing in the "ell %no"n Celtic0$allic places J *rittany, 7ales, Corn"all, Scotland and 4rance. >ddly .arely any of these appear in eastern 'ngland, something that correlates "ith the genetics of this region. >ppenheimer .elieves that the distri.ution of these lithic monuments is consistent "ith the Stone Age genetic inputs.:@ This Stone Age commonality could .e an early Celtic lin%. Although a huge +ron Age migration may not have ta%en place, perhaps the movement of 8Celts9 happened earlier, and later the circles had <ruidic significance for the
+.id.,:CE. 12 Cremin, The Celts in ,uro$e B2 B=. 13 Cremin, The Celts in ,uro$e F C. Aedeen Cremin et al., Archaeologica: The 'orld.s Most Significant Sites and Cultural Treasures ,Horth Sydney, HS72 &andom (ouse, 2DDC-, :BD :B:. 14 Stephen >ppenheimer, The /rigins of the British: The ne) $rehistory of Britain and +reland from ice0age hunter gatherers to the Vi(ings as revealed by 12A analysis ,London2 Consta.le M &o.inson Ltd., 2DDF-, 2BF. Ancient and Classical B

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Celts, "ho no" separated for millennia, "ere still conducting trade and cultural contact. 7hilst Aames does reKect the idea of the ancient Celts, and their migration he does offer a good e#planation for the similarities in the archaeological and linguistic records, saying that they arose out of a 1parallel development6 of peoples in close contact, rather than sharing an origin.:B

The Genetic !idence: The "ature o# It and $hat It Tells %s Unfortunately most of the genetics in this paper is predominantly focused on 8the +sles9 ,*ritain and +reland-, as that is "here most of the research has .een focused out of nationalistic interest and ease. (o"ever that does not mean there haven9t .een attempts to lin% any 8Celtic9 <HA to that of mainland 'urope. >ne pro.lem "ith attempting to define an ancient ethnic group or race is the 8ancientness9 of the scientific samples, as Sy%es descri.es, it is a fine line .et"een good and .ad preservation. :F Uncovering enough <HA to analyse and ma%e via.le conclusions is sometimes an impossi.le tas%. The slightest mista%e can cause degradation, something one can ill afford "hen "or%ing on the li%es of the Cheddar 3an.:C 7hat ma%es uncovering the genetic e#istence or identity of the ancient Celts aggravating is that it is easy to get <HA from the current population, and easy to get a .road scale vie" of the current population .ut not of the ancients. 7e do not have hundreds or

millions of perfectly preserved fossils, .og men or even teeth of the ancient Celts to compare "ith the ancient Vi%ings, &omans etc. to determine if they "ere genetically distinct in antiquity. +t "ould ta%e three minutes or less to o.tain enough <HA from a classmate, as easy as a chee% s"a.:G. Analysis ta%es much longer, .ut there are a variety of techniques, in this case population genetics techniques need to .e used, since "e "ant to uncover 15 Simon Aames, The Atlantic Celts: Ancient &eo$le or Modern +nvention3 ,London2 *ritish 3useum ;ress,
:EEE16 *ryan Sy%es, Blood of the +sles: ,x$loring the genetic roots of our tribal history ,London2 Trans"orld ;u.lishers J Corgi *oo%s, 2DDF-, 22 2E. 17 See note :F a.ove 18 School of 3olecular *ioscience J <iscipline of 3olecular *iology, Molecular Biology and -enetics A MB4- 56789MB4-5:78 4aboratory Manual Semester 8 5688 ,Sydney2 The University of Sydney, 2D::-, B.B B.G.

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information a.out the Celts on a .road scale. :E *ut here is "here the num.er of ancient samples .ecomes an issue J ho" can "e get an idea of an ancient population "ith fe" if any ancient samples, or "ith copious modern samples "hich have undergone mutations, inter.reeding, 8dilution9 and possi.le genetic e#tinction since ancient times5 *ryan Sy%es and his team focused on using variations of the 83olecular Cloc%9 method to trace .ac% the mitochondrial ,mt<HA or m<HA- and I chromosomal <HA of their modern su.Kects to "hen the 8clan mothers9 and 8clan fathers9 originally colonised the *ritish +sles. The reason they used mt and I chromosomal <HA is t"ofold. 4irstly

mitochondrial <HA is often the only type of <HA, "hich survives in preserved human remains, or is usually the .est preserved, and the easiest to e#tract, since it is separate to the nuclear <HA, and similar to o.taining .acterial <HA. Secondly mt<HA is inherited through maternal lineage "ithout any input from a father9s <HA! therefore a maternal grandmother, mother, her male and female children all share identical mt<HA. The lac% of male mt<HA to com.ine "ith in fertilisation ma%es the mt genome haploid ,only one parental contri.ution-, "hich in turn means that mt <HA types are called haplotypes, "ith certain haplotypes .eing more common amongst certain populations. The a.sence of interfering male <HA ma%es mt<HA analysis simpler. He" mutations, "hich can distinguish haplotypes, occur occasionally and are easy to find. Analysing these inherited mutational variations can determine the relationships .et"een individuals or "hole population groups or even species. 2D 7hen t"o groups deviate from a common ancestor they .oth accumulate a 1unique set of random <HA mutations6 and so long as these mutations occur at a constant rate then the 1num.er of mutations is proportional to the length of time that t"o groups have .een separate6. This is "hat "e call the molecular cloc% and independently determined events ,esta.lished through methods such as car.on dating and geochronology- are attached to give a more definite timescale. The 19 $riffiths et al., +ntroduction to -enetic Analysis FDE F@E.
Cold Springs (ar.or La.oratory, 1$enetic >rigins6, 1olan 12A 4earning Center, Nhttp200""".geneticorigins.org0O ,accessed B August, 2D::-! Sy%es, Blood of the +sles 20 See note :E a.ove Ancient and Classical

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o.served mutation rate does not actually reflect the true mutation rate since the mt<HA mutates at a rate far higher than nuclear <HA, .ut Single Hucleotide ;olymorphisms ,SH;spatterns are inherited more or less unchanged follo"ing 3endelian la"s through thousands of generations, and there is a high statistical pro.a.ility that many of these mutated regions have 1.ac% mutated6 to the original state ,something "hich is very common in all species-. 2: +t is through this method, "ith statistical and comparative adKustments that Sy%es and other geneticists have determined the 1mitochondrial 've6 and specifically for Sy%es the 1Seven <aughters of 've6 "hom "ith a fe" lesser daughters, all indigenous 'uropeans are descended from J Ursula, (elena, Aasmine, Penia, Tara, Velda and /atrine! %no"n as 1clan mothers622. This means that it is theoretically possi.le to trace the origins of the people of the *ritish +sles .ac% to one of these daughters, to see if they share common ancestry "ith people living in the Celtic heartland of central 'urope. >n the male side "ith the I chromosome, it is inherited from a paternal lineage "ith no female input, .ut unli%e mt<HA, "hich is carried .y all people, I chromosomes ,at least for the purposes of this paper- are specific to males. I chromosomal SH;s are inherited li%e mt<HA SH;s .ut do not have the same high rate of .ac% mutation .ut are instead thought 1to represent a unique mutation event that occurred once in evolutionary history6, so in other "ords each maKor SH; is li%ely to represent one maKor 1clan father6 or dominant male ancestor J such as Hiall or Somerled. Such groupings of I chromosomal <HA ,"hich is haploid- are called haplogroups, "ith the .asic principles of mt<HA haplotypes applying. There are 2D paternal clans "orld"ide "ith G clans .eing in 'urope, B of "hich are present in the *ritish +sles J >isin, 7odan, Sigurd, 'shu and &e :E. Therefore the molecular cloc% method can .e used on I chromosomal <HA as "ell, allo"ing possi.le Celtic paternal lineage to .e traced .ac%. ;erhaps the .iggest pro.lem of the genetic approach is "hat Sy%es points out, and "hat is at the cru# of this "hole de.ate2 ;'hen it comes to getting hold of a definition of the 21 +.id. 22 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles :=B :=G. 19 +.id., :E= :E@. 8

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Celt or Celtic a definition to be tested by genetics + found myself struggling< 2=. This is undou.tedly a pro.lem for any geneticist "ho has tried to define the Celts and their movements. *eing of 'uropean origin, .oth the groups of Celts are li%ely to have inter .red "ith neigh.ouring populations and share haplotypes0haplogroups "ith them J it is very unli%ely they "ere genetic isolates, unli%e the Hative American +ndians, "ho "ere genetic isolates until recent times due to not only geography .ut their large founder effect. 2@ 4urthermore the e#act definition of "hat ma%es a Celt is a common pro.lem across disciplines J everyone has different opinions a.out "ho the Celts "ere, "here they lived and "hether the spread of 8Celticity9 "as migration or fashion. The genetics does not deal "ith art styles or language .ut it can complement it! here is "hat *ryan Sy%es and Stephen >ppenheimer have concluded a.out the Celts and their genetic roots2 The 12A of +reland The maternal clan of Ursula appears to .e the oldest in +reland ,originating in $reece- "ith appro#imately :DQ of all +rish men and "omen as direct descendants "ith an arrival date in +reland of appro#imately C,=DD years ago. (elena ,"ho has the strongest presence in the +sles- is the dominant mt<HA present in the +rish population, "ith Tara, Aasmine, Penia, /atrine, Velda and even Ulri%e all sho"ing an occurrence of appro#imately :DQ or less in the modern +rish population. All of these clan arrivals ,e#cept for minor ones li%e Ulri%e- date .et"een C,BDD and @,BDD years ago "hich means that the maternal ancestors of the +rish arrived as early as the ;alaeolithic, .efore the Heolithic &evolution and definitely not in the classical or medieval periods.2B &oughly GDQ of +rish men .elong to the paternal clan of >isin, arriving in +reland appro#imately @,2DD years ago, "ith penetrance of the chromosome varying in a gradient 23 +.id., FG. 24 $riffiths et al., +ntroduction to -enetic Analysis, F== F=G
Sy%es, Blood of the +sles :G2 2D:. 25 +.id. Ancient and Classical E

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.et"een regions in +reland, something "hich Sy%es suggested sho"s the effects of the :2 Century Anglo Horman invasion, confirmed .y the I chromosomes sho"ing a clear correspondence to Anglo Horman surnames and the A .lood group ,highly prevalent amongst Anglo Hormans, and not amongst the indigenous +rish-.th The origin myth of *rutus coming across from Spain and the rest of the +.erian ;eninsula "as sho"n to have genetic .asis "ith a particular Atlantic 3odal (aplotype signature found in the +sles only on the +rish I chromosomes! this is a signature common "ith the *asques and $alacians in Spain and is the most common signature in the +rish clan of >isin.2F The 12A of Scotland and +ts +slands +n Shetland and >r%ney >isin is yet again the maKor paternal clan at roughly FDQ, "ith the maKority of the remaining @DQ .elonging to 7odan and Sigurd. As the names may suggest, these +slands have Celtic0;ictish and Vi%ing heritage. The results "ere tested against the I chromosomes of Hor"ay and it "as found that roughly BGQ "ere ;ict and @2Q "ere Vi%ing. There "as Kust as much Vi%ing mt<HA in the north islands, suggesting the Vi%ings .rought their "omen "ith them "hen invading the +sles ,not the traditional picture painted .y historical sources-. (o"ever the ;ictish ancestral .ase still holds on strongly "ith a.out FDQ of Horth +slanders .eing of ;ictish descent. +n ;ictland ,$rampian and Tayside- Sigurd and 7odan are present .ut in lo" levels, suggesting ;ictland has virtually no Vi%ing ancestry "hich is 1"hat "e "ould have to e#pect from the history and the archaeology6 of the region.2C The mt<HA from the ;ictish heartland is more ancient than that of +reland "ith Ursula as the oldest again at E,2DD years ago and the youngest from Aasmine9s clan arriving a.out B,DDD years ago. Already "e can see that the maternal ancestry of *ritain and +reland is ancient and consistent, despite the Vi%ings and th See note =D a.ove. 26 +.id.
+.id., 22F 2F2. 27 +.id., 2@F.

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other visitors. As Sy%es points out 1it ta%es a lot to displace indigenous genes, especially on the female side.62G The (e.rides "ere very different to not only the rest of Scotland .ut the rest of the +sles "ith unusually young .ranches of the Aasmine and Tara clans, "hich have "hat Sy%es calls 1a distinctly sea.orne flavour a.out them6, coming from the Atlantic coast as more recent immigrants. Argyll on the maternal side "as more similar to ;ictland than the (e.rides, and the (ighland coast "as in .et"een these values. >n the paternal side ;ictland is definitely ;ictish, Argyll has =D @DQ 1replacement of ;ictish .y $aelic I chromosomes6 "ith all areas e#cept for the Horth +slands sho"ing little to no Vi%ing footprint. The replacement .y the $aels, is pro.a.ly e#plained .y history, "ith a 1hostile replacement of ;ictish males .y the <alriadan Celts, most of "hom relied on ;ictish rather than +rish "omen to propagate their genes6 .ut this is hard to definitely determine since the ;icts and +rish $aels0Celts are e#tremely close genetically, so any statistical estimates are difficult. The geneticists insist that this gives us a solid conclusion that 1the ;icts and the Celts have the same underlying genetic origins.62E The 12A of 'ales The 7elsh mt<HA pattern is remar%a.ly similar to +reland and ;ictland "ith (elena dominating at appro#imately @CQ. Li%e the other traditionally 8Celtic9 areas of the +sles, 7ales has almost no Horse or Vi%ing lineage or other signs of settlement. 7hat Sigurds are in 7ales have a different signature to the Vi%ing I chromosomes. So 7ales too, is almost completely indigenous. The 12A of ,ngland 28 +.id., 2@E. 29 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles 2B=.
+.id., 2CF 2GF. Ancient and Classical ::

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'ngland is a .ig complicated mi#ture, not surprising given its history and geographical position. The maternal trend is much the same as the other regions ho"ever there is a trend from east and north to the south and "est of 'ngland seemingly right along the <anela", "ith (elena at @=Q in 'ast Anglia getting up to @CQ in the north and much more presence of the minor clans, particularly Ulri%e. This indicates female immigration 1into the east Rof 'nglandS from continental 'urope6 a trend not sho"n in the "est or north. The male side sho"s huge differences J >isin is still the largest "ith B:Q in 'ast Anglia, increasing "est to 7ales and Horth to Scotland! "here >isin decreases, 7odan increases "ith his highest in 'ast Anglia, .ut almost no Sigurds in 'ast Anglia, .ut plenty in the north! suggesting that the east sa" the effects of later immigrations, lessening into heavily 8Celtic9 areas. The 12A of the British +sles in Summary The genetic evidence clearly sho"s the people of the *ritish +sles are an old people "ith very consistent genetics, especially on the female side, "ith any replacement .eing from the <alriadan Celts, the Vi%ings and other 7estern 'uropeans in the 'ast of 'ngland. Across the *ritish +sles there "as consistently a 1lo"er than e#pected amount of accumulated mutations in the I chromosomes6 "hich seems to .e a frequent feature of Celtic regions.=D (o"ever these replacements are minute "ith no 8invading9 people since the Stone Age having contri.uted much more than B :DQ to the indigenous genetics of the +sles. =: This is as >lson suggests J great evidence for cultural overlay as the driving force .ehind the spread of 8Celticity9.=2 Sy%es calls his indigenous people of the *ritish +sles Celts o"ing to their pre &oman status, longevity of their genetics and .ecause they spo%e Celtic languages, .ut this is one of many interpretations of 8Celt9, for he also ac%no"ledges that the

+.id., =:F =2F. 30 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles 2GF. 31 >ppenheimer, The /rigins of the British, @CD. 32 >lson, 1$enetic 'vidence and the 'arly 3edievalist6, 2:C.

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continental Celts deserve the name too. Iour genetics does not necessarily e#clude you from .elonging to a cultural group.== Ho evidence for a great migration from continental Celts as history suggests, "as found in the genetics. *oth >ppenheimer and Sy%es agree there is 1there is no genetic? evidence for this6 8invasion9 or migration theory. =@ *asically 1three quarters of *ritish ancestors arrive long .efore the first farmers6 and therefore such a migration any later than the Heolithic is a myth. &onclusions: So $ho $ere and Are the &elts and How 'id Their &ulture S(read) 4rom the genetics there appears to .e t"o definitions of Celt J those "ho "ere the indigenous inha.itants of the *ritish +sles from as early as :D,DDD years ago and the mainland Celts as descri.ed .y ;osidonius and others.=2The linguistics "ould group all of them together! "hich has evolved over time to no" almost solely focus the Celtic language in the +sles, this is pro.lematic since 1.asically, language has nothing to do "ith genetics6. = The archaeology sho"s a mi#ed vie" depending on interpretation, it can lend itself as Cremin puts it as including .oth the mainland Celts and those of the *ritish +sles, or it can include only the classical definition of 8/eltoi9 "ith the material culture spreading via trade to the +sles.F Li%e"ise the history .ac%s the vie" of the traditional 8/eltoi9 .ut "ho after the fall of &ome, moved around, and possi.ly migrated to the +sles, ta%ing their culture, language and genes, "ith them. (o"ever .oth Sy%es and >ppenheimer agree that there is 1no evidence at all of a large scale immigration from central 'urope to +reland and the "est of the +sles? The 8Celts9 Rof the +slesS? are not, as far as + can see from the genetic evidence, related to the Celts ? from the heartlands of (allstadt and La T)ne.6=B +n other "ords, there "as never a 33 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles ==G. 34 >ppenheimer, The /rigins of the British, @C: @C2. 32 See note 2 a.ove 35 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles ==2.
Ancient and Classical :=

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.ig 8invasion9 or migration of the 8/eltoi9 to the *ritish +sles. A 1large scale6 immigration or invasion in these times "ith such small populations could have constituted a fe" doLen or a fe" hundred people, since population siLe is important in determining ho" easily ne" mutations or genes "ill .ecome fi#ed or lost. (ence neutral ,i.e. neither .eneficial or detrimental- alleles tend to disappear due to genetic drift J for e#ample a com.ination of not marrying the locals and genetic drift meant little to no &oman genes in *ritain, and li%e"ise the Celts made no apparent genetic impact. =F The spread of the 1uniquely Celtic6 art forms and languages is, according to this evidence, cultural overlay. =C This is not to say that the indigenous peoples of the *ritish +sles "eren9t Celtic! .y the linguistic definition, and modern perception they are. 3ost of the current inha.itants of the +sles have 8Celtic9 roots, or as Sy%es puts it 1overall, the genetic structure of the +sles is stu..ornly Celtic, if .y that "e mean descent from people "ho "ere there .efore the &omans and "ho spo%e a Celtic language.6=G 7hat is important "hen considering the ancient Celts is to remem.er that it is a 1.rand6, "hich changes its meaning depending on conte#t and "hat specialisation it is discussed in relation to. Aust .ecause you are not genetically or linguistically Celtic does not mean that you are e#cluded from the "ider Celtic 1.rand6. 'ssentially the mass Celtic migration in the +ron Age is a myth .ut the material culture "as spread li%e 8fashion9, ma%ing the people of the *ritish +sles Celtic at least in part. The 8/eltoi9 did not migrate to the +sles, ho"ever their legacy lives on, due to their close contact "ith their 8cousins9 across the channel. +t "as an importation of ideas, technology and language "ithout genetic input.=E

36 $riffiths et al., +ntroduction to -enetic Analysis, F=G. 37 Cremin, The Celts in ,uro$e 22. 38 Sy%es, Blood of the +sles, 22F J 2F2.
+.id., FF FC. 39 >ppenheimer, The /rigins of the British, 2@B.

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*i.liography Cold Springs (ar.or La.oratory. 1$enetic >rigins6. 1olan 12A 4earning Center. Nhttp200""".geneticorigins.org0O ,accessed B August, 2D::-. Cremin, Aedeen. The Celts in ,uro$e. Sydney, NSW: The University of Sydney entre for e!ti" St#dies, 1992. Cremin, Aedeen. et al. Archaeologica: The 'orld.s Most Significant Sites and Cultural Treasures! North Sydney, NSW: $%ndo& 'o#se, 2007( $riffiths, Anthony A.4., Susan &. 7essler, Sean *. Carroll, Aohn <oe.ley. +ntroduction to -enetic Analysis. Ne) *or+: W('( ,ree&%n %nd o&-%ny, 2012( Aames, Simon. The Atlantic Celts: Ancient &eo$le or Modern +nvention3. .ondon: /ritish 0#se#& 1ress, 1999( 3ega", A.V.S. and 3.&. 3ega". 1Ancient Celts and 3odern 'thnicity6. Anti"uity. no. CD ,:EEF-2 :CB G:. >lson, Lynette. 1$enetic 'vidence and the 'arly 3edievalist6. Journal of the Australian ,arly Medieval Association. Ho. @ ,2DDG-2 2:= 2D. >ppenheimer, Stephen. The /rigins of the British: The ne) $rehistory of Britain and +reland from ice0age hunter gatherers to the Vi(ings as revealed by 12A analysis. .ondon: onst%2!e 3 $o2inson .td(, 2006( School of 3olecular *ioscience J <iscipline of 3olecular *iology. Molecular Biology and -enetics A MB4- 56789MB4-5:78 4aboratory Manual Semester 8 5688. Sydney: The University of Sydney, 2011( Sims 7illiams, ;atric%. 1$enetics, Linguistics and ;rehistory2 Thin%ing *ig and Thin%ing Straight6. Anti"uity. no. C2 ,:EEG-2 BDB 2G. Sy%es, *ryan, Blood of the +sles: ,x$loring the genetic roots of our tribal history. .ondon: Tr%ns)or!d 1#2!ishers or4i /oo+s, 2006( Tierney, A.A. 8The Celtic 'thnography of ;osidonius9, &roceedings of the *oyal +rish Academy. no. FDC ,:EFD-2 2@C 2CB.

Ancient and Classical :B