Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 23, 2008 16:58:02 GMT -5
Native American DNA found in UK
DNA testing has uncovered British descendents of Native Americans brought to
the UK centuries ago as slaves, translators or tribal representatives.
Genetic analysis turned up two white British women with a DNA signature
characteristic of American Indians.
An Oxford scientist said it was extremely unusual to find these DNA lineages
in Britons with no previous knowledge of Native American ancestry.
Indigenous Americans were brought over to the UK as early as the 1500s.
Many were brought over as curiosities; but others travelled here in
delegations during the 18th Century to petition the British imperial government over
trade or protection from other tribes.
Experts say it is probable that some stayed in Britain and married into local
communities.
Doreen Isherwood, 64, from Putney, and Anne Hall, 53, of Huddersfield, only
found out about their New World heritage after paying for commercial DNA
ancestry tests.
Mrs Isherwood told BBC News: "I was expecting the results to say I belonged
to one of the common European tribes, but when I got them back, my first
thought was that they were a mistake.
"It rocked me completely. It made think: who am I?"
Ancestral home
The chartered physiotherapist studied for a degree at the University of North
Carolina, but had no idea she possessed Native American ancestors. She said
she came from a long line of Lancashire cotton weavers.
Mrs Isherwood added that she was "immensely proud" of her newfound heritage,
which has renewed a long-standing interest in Native American culture.
Anne Hall, who works as a private educational tutor, commented: "I was
thrilled to bits. It was a very pleasant surprise. To have Native American blood
is very exotic."
She said she now aimed to investigate her family history in an attempt to
track down the source of her rare genetic lineage.
Mrs Isherwood says her American antecedent must have arrived in Britain in
the 18th or 17th Centuries. She has traced her maternal ancestors back to 1798
and has found no sign of New World progenitors.
Maternal clans
The tests taken by both women were based on analysis of DNA inside the
"powerhouses" of our cells: the mitochondria.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed down from mother to daughter more or less
unchanged; but changes, or mutations, accumulate in the DNA sequence over
successive generations.
Scientists can use these changes to classify mtDNAs into broad types (called
haplogroups) which, to some extent, reflect a person's geographical origin.
Mrs Isherwood and Mrs Hall possessed haplogroups characteristic of the
indigenous people of the Americas, which are referred to as A and C.
"It's very unusual. Most of the people we test belong to one of the European
maternal clans," said Professor Bryan Sykes, whose company Oxford Ancestors
carried out the tests for Doreen and Anne.
Professor Sykes, also a professor of human genetics at the University of
Oxford, said: "There are matches between [Doreen and Anne] and particular Native
American tribes, but that doesn't necessarily mean those are the tribes their
ancestors came from."
Trickle of immigrants
This month marks the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent
English-speaking settlement in North America.
Alden Vaughan, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, in New York, has
written a book on American Indians in Britain. He said indigenous peoples
from the New World began arriving in Britain as early as the sixteenth century.
"It started earlier than Jamestown. A number were brought over through the
1500s, mainly as curiosities," he told BBC News. Others were taken to Britain
to learn English and go back to the colonies as translators.
"Sir Walter Raleigh brought back several individuals from the Jamestown area
and from the Orinoco valley. Pocahontas went to England in 1616 and died
there the next year.
"She was accompanied by several of her tribal associates. Some of them stayed
in England for several years. I don't know of any marriages or even
relationships between those women and Englishmen, but it is certainly possible.
"Later in the 17th Century, Native American slaves were brought over. I don't
know much about them, because all the evidence I have are ads in London
newspapers for runaway bond-servants, described as being Indians."
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
DNA testing has uncovered British descendents of Native Americans brought to
the UK centuries ago as slaves, translators or tribal representatives.
Genetic analysis turned up two white British women with a DNA signature
characteristic of American Indians.
An Oxford scientist said it was extremely unusual to find these DNA lineages
in Britons with no previous knowledge of Native American ancestry.
Indigenous Americans were brought over to the UK as early as the 1500s.
Many were brought over as curiosities; but others travelled here in
delegations during the 18th Century to petition the British imperial government over
trade or protection from other tribes.
Experts say it is probable that some stayed in Britain and married into local
communities.
Doreen Isherwood, 64, from Putney, and Anne Hall, 53, of Huddersfield, only
found out about their New World heritage after paying for commercial DNA
ancestry tests.
Mrs Isherwood told BBC News: "I was expecting the results to say I belonged
to one of the common European tribes, but when I got them back, my first
thought was that they were a mistake.
"It rocked me completely. It made think: who am I?"
Ancestral home
The chartered physiotherapist studied for a degree at the University of North
Carolina, but had no idea she possessed Native American ancestors. She said
she came from a long line of Lancashire cotton weavers.
Mrs Isherwood added that she was "immensely proud" of her newfound heritage,
which has renewed a long-standing interest in Native American culture.
Anne Hall, who works as a private educational tutor, commented: "I was
thrilled to bits. It was a very pleasant surprise. To have Native American blood
is very exotic."
She said she now aimed to investigate her family history in an attempt to
track down the source of her rare genetic lineage.
Mrs Isherwood says her American antecedent must have arrived in Britain in
the 18th or 17th Centuries. She has traced her maternal ancestors back to 1798
and has found no sign of New World progenitors.
Maternal clans
The tests taken by both women were based on analysis of DNA inside the
"powerhouses" of our cells: the mitochondria.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed down from mother to daughter more or less
unchanged; but changes, or mutations, accumulate in the DNA sequence over
successive generations.
Scientists can use these changes to classify mtDNAs into broad types (called
haplogroups) which, to some extent, reflect a person's geographical origin.
Mrs Isherwood and Mrs Hall possessed haplogroups characteristic of the
indigenous people of the Americas, which are referred to as A and C.
"It's very unusual. Most of the people we test belong to one of the European
maternal clans," said Professor Bryan Sykes, whose company Oxford Ancestors
carried out the tests for Doreen and Anne.
Professor Sykes, also a professor of human genetics at the University of
Oxford, said: "There are matches between [Doreen and Anne] and particular Native
American tribes, but that doesn't necessarily mean those are the tribes their
ancestors came from."
Trickle of immigrants
This month marks the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent
English-speaking settlement in North America.
Alden Vaughan, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, in New York, has
written a book on American Indians in Britain. He said indigenous peoples
from the New World began arriving in Britain as early as the sixteenth century.
"It started earlier than Jamestown. A number were brought over through the
1500s, mainly as curiosities," he told BBC News. Others were taken to Britain
to learn English and go back to the colonies as translators.
"Sir Walter Raleigh brought back several individuals from the Jamestown area
and from the Orinoco valley. Pocahontas went to England in 1616 and died
there the next year.
"She was accompanied by several of her tribal associates. Some of them stayed
in England for several years. I don't know of any marriages or even
relationships between those women and Englishmen, but it is certainly possible.
"Later in the 17th Century, Native American slaves were brought over. I don't
know much about them, because all the evidence I have are ads in London
newspapers for runaway bond-servants, described as being Indians."
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News