Slashdot Mirror
The Irish Not of Celtic Origin?
schwit1 writes: The discovery of a burial site in Ireland has thrown into doubt all theories concerning the Celtic origins of the Irish. "'The DNA evidence based on those bones completely upends the traditional view,' said Barry Cunliffe, an emeritus professor of archaeology at Oxford who has written books on the origins of the people of Ireland. DNA research indicates that the three skeletons found behind McCuaig's are the ancestors of the modern Irish and they predate the Celts and their purported arrival by 1,000 years or more. The genetic roots of today's Irish, in other words, existed in Ireland before the Celts arrived." The article is quite detailed, and outlines the overall scientific problem of the Celts: [namely that it] is now quite unclear who they were, where they came from, and where they went. In related news: Scientists have found new evidence of a human presence in Ireland as far back as 12,500 years ago.
Humans are mutts.
Table-ized A.I.
The most interesting thing about this discovery is how it puts the concept of "natives", not just in Ireland, but around the world into question.
There are significant political and social consequences relating to this, obviously.
In North America, many so-called "natives" (despite many having a majority-European or even a majority-African ancestry) receive preferential treatment and financial support from governments and other organizations.
Yet the more we learn about the Clovis culture and the Beothuk culture, the more we see that there were multiple waves of migration into the Americas.
Even ignoring the European/African ancestry of today's "native" North Americans, we find that some of their ancestors were merely the latest arrivals from Eurasia, displacing and in some cases eliminating the existing inhabitants.
This, of course, should make us question if these self-titled "natives" should still receive the preferential treatment they currently receive. Their claim to the land starts to look tenuous, or at least no stronger than that of any other later-wave migrants to North America.