Genetics and the Origins of the British Population

Martin Richards, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Cristian Capelli, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
James F Wilson, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Published online: July 2008

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020804

A combination of archaeology and evolutionary genetics has led to a reappraisal of the major demographic transitions in British prehistory. The role of ‘Celtic’ migrations has been questioned, with the aboriginal population of the islands seen largely as the result of settlement at the end of the last Ice Age, probably augmented by further settlement during the Neolithic. The demographic impact of the Anglo-Saxons, considered minor by archaeologists, has been estimated to be high by some geneticists, but this is the result of implausible assumptions about the preceding genetic composition of the islands and overinterpretation of poorly resolved genetic data.

Keywords: archaeogenetics; phylogeography; British Isles; mtDNA; Y-chromosome; founder

 References
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    Torroni A, Bandelt H-J, D'Urbano L et al. (1998) mtDNA analysis reveals a major late Paleolithic population expansion from southwestern to northeastern Europe. American Journal of Human Genetics 62: 1137–1152.

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Human Evolution | Population Structure and Genetics
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Article Title: Genetics and the Origins of the British Population
 
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Richards, Martin, Capelli, Cristian, and Wilson, James F(Jul 2008) Genetics and the Origins of the British Population. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020804]