DNA Spread Theory

DNA Spread Theory
by Bill Lipton

"The vanquished always want to imitate the victor in his distinctive mark, his dress, his occupation, and his other conditions and customs." - A 14th century scholar, Ibn Khaldun[1]

To state the obvious: Every population can be defined by its DNA. As discussed below, the study of ancient populations has had to refer to artifacts as opposed to population groups. It is only since December 2008 - with PNAS publication of genetic findings from a family grave, from Eulau Germany, dating to 2600 BCE [2]- that specific DNA has been linked to a specific archaeological site ... the Goseck stone circle. Effectively, for the first time, a family, sharing common DNA, has been linked to a Stonehenge like structure. In recent articles, the Eulau Germany family has also been associated with the Nebra Sky Disk (dated to 1600 BCE).

To date, no name or designation has been given to studies linking specific DNA with specific archaeological sites, languages and mythologies. As noted below, the only major project exploring human migration from the perspective of DNA is the National Geographic Genographic Project - with is due for completion in 2010. Those who have been approaching the subject from the perspective of DNA-genealogy have come to know this area of study, DNA Spread Theory. As the use of DNA - in archaeological context - it is possible that other designations will emerge, but for now, the link is being made in terms of DNA Spread Theory.

Prior to the advent of economical gender DNA testing – with its application to Genealogy and affirmation of George Darwin’s postulation of a link between surnames and genetics – there was no objective means of connecting the evolution of culture to specific populations. In archaeology, the trend was to use technologically unique artifacts to identify a cultural group. An example is found in the Corded Ware Culture – identified by coiled clay pottery designs – where a clan or tribal technological design is utilized to describe what is either a single population, or an amalgam of diverse groups.

Theoretical & Archaeological Roots
‘Path of the Serpent’ proposed a multi-disciplinary approach to cultural evolution based upon the (then recent) findings of Astronomer Gerald S. Hawkins – as expounded in his seminal work, ‘Stonehenge Decoded’[3] – taken in conjunction with archaeological evidence inferring Cro-magnon cultures considered the serpent to be a primal deity. In addition, Lipton had the examples set by Thor Heyerdahl – Kon-Tiki and the Ra Expedition – to provide demonstrative, and pragmatic, evidence for the feasibility of inter-continental cultural transfer as a means of explaining the universality of the Serpent Deity.

The conjecture underlying the work of Heyerdahl and numerous others – some of which gained popular notoriety, while related lines of thought languished for want of evidence – fell in a period marked by publication of such works as Erich von Däniken’s ‘Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past’. Drawing upon general post nuclear apocalyptic fears and an unpopular war sold as the possible first domino in the threatened Communist/Socialist takeover – building upon a sense of helplessness and New Age escapism – von Däniken was able to capitalize on a general feeling of human helplessness and incompetence in managing our own destiny; this was combined with a historic questioning of pre-Victorian intelligence which mandated that any ancient accomplishment not achievable by Her Majesty’s Royal Engineers must have been done by aliens.


Working Definition of DNA Spread Theory

The research report associated with the Eulau discovery - the first significant paper in this area of academic inquiry - provides us with the basis for a working definition of DNA Spread Theory: "A multidisciplinary synthesis of integrative studies associating detailed information about daily lives, social organization, and culture with with specific DNA Haplogroups and Haplotypes to obtain insight into their relationship to nuclear and/or extended family structures and marriage systems."
Historic Antecedents

Because it associates religion, legend, culture and DNA, DNA Spread Theory borders on theories of the type espoused by Arthur de Gobineau, whose 1850's Aryan Master race hypothesis – as put forth in ‘An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races’ – would eventually gave rise to Hitler, the Nazi and neo-Nazi movements. It is noteworthy that de Gobineau made his connections in terms of language and dominant cultures – as viewed in terms of Indo-Iranian and Indo-European cultural influences. This was the same period in which Darwin – who postulated Natural Selection in 1838, but didn’t publish ‘On the Origin of Species’ until 1859, or some five years after de Gobineau’s theory – was engaged in explaining the world through Natural Selection and what has been termed "Survival of the fittest." In their own way, both these views discussed a form of natural eugenics in which the unfit were unable to procreate, or otherwise ceased to exist.


However paradoxical, it should be noted that the Old Testament concept of a Chosen people serves as a fitting prelude to both Darwin and de Gobineau. Those familiar with the first five books – the Books of Moses – are also familiar with the various divine commands such as:

a) "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him." [4] Which effectively impose a divine policy of de Gobineau style eugenics on the per-Israelite promised land occupants; or
b) The marriage laws typified by "only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry." [5] Which effectively impose a restrictive Darwinian mating practice – ostensibly to control property rights, but having the practical effect of governing power and educational advantages in the same manner as the Indian Caste System

It would be remiss to ignore the full extent of Old & New Testament eugenics reflected by the application of pastoralist Animal husbandry to social order and structure. This becomes evident when we place the marriage restrictions in the context of rules governing a division of territory and allocation of profession based on genetic linederived from an assertion of descent from one of twelve specific individuals and the ‘blessing’ they received from a legendary common ancestor. Effectively, under conditions of strict enforcement, each territory would eventually contain a homogeneous genetic pool defined by geography and trade; in terms of husbandry, each line was being bred to fulfil a specific function within the specific geographic environment it occupied. A concept which, when expressed in these terms, is very controversial among certain segments of the population.
However, by recognizing this ultimate characteristic of the discussed text, and viewing the same effective result within other Caste or ‘class’ based social structures, Spread Theory allows its practitioners to find correlations between DNA and culture.

Proper application of DNA within the context of Spread Theory allows both the archaeologist and anthropologist to place there discoveries into a more universal context; thus illuminating our common origins and manner in which our continued interaction both diverges and coalesces -- based upon whether the nature of conquest, the means used to vanquish, was militaristic, technological, or philosophical.

Baseline Data

Haplogroup R1a distribution
Given the recent emergence of this field of study, the earliest papers reported results from only six viable loci – these are identified by DYS location as:

DYS19/388/390/391/392/393

Of note is that more DYS values are generally reported – based on nature of study – but the six currently being utilized are more uniformly reported, and are reported with larger supporting data samples.

Focusing on research papers containing Indo-European Hg-R-M17 (R1a1), yielded seventeen papers with viable supporting tables (or Modal Haplogroup information) for a total of approximately 3000 individual haplogroup sets – these comprise the basic data currently being prepared/edited for publication. To this has been added comparative data from various individuals belonging to members of R1a1 Yahoo Forum where Lipton is a co-moderator http://www.R1a1.org

Modal Sample

Y-DNA-R1a Modal Haplotype Ysearch Alleles(repeats) at each DYS location:
DYS 19 388 390 391 392 393 future use 389I 389II 426
Eastern European 16 12 25 10 11 13 ..... .. .. ..

The foregoing illustration presents six elements of a Modal which, because it is not supported in the context of available peer-review research offers no tracking context. The following are derived from the research data. DNA Spread Theory is used, as the name implies, to trace where a given ancestral line has been and left a descendant record. A basic precept of Spread Theory is to utilize markers which are slow to mutate and therefore stable over extended periods of time - tentatively defined as units expressed in thousands of years. For that reason, only exact-match haplotypes are used. The following chart illustrates a sequence variously[6][7][8] defined as an Ashkenazi Microsatellite or Founder Modal and Central Asian Modal.

Spread Theory as illustrated using proposed Ashkenazim Founder Modal:

DYS 19 388 390 391 392 393 future use 389I 389II 426
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Levite Founder
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Kirghiz(Cent-Asia)
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Indian - Kashmiri
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Anatolia
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Kurd
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Iran
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Parsi
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Anglo-Saxon(Ashbourne)
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Sorb
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Belarus
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Norway
16 12 25 11 10 13 ..... .. .. ..Tristan da Cunha

Population by Dominant DNA

Utilizing the same Modal - though different examples where the specific locale was provided - we are able to see a migration path which lends itself to being mapped. Here the data is presented tabulated by Latitude(left) and Sort by:

by Longitude:
Latitude Longitude Location
37.31N 38.74E Anatolia(Urfa)
40.99N 29.10E Anatolia(Istanbul)
41.00N 44.40E Armenian(North)
45.10N 15.20E Croatian
50.40N 10.40E German
51.18N 11.85E Eulau(Ger)
53.71N 27.90E Belarus

by Latitude:
Latitude Longitude Location
44.40E 41.00N Armenian(North)
38.74E 37.31N Anatolia(Urfa)
29.10E 40.99N Anatolia(Istanbul)
27.90E 53.71N Belarus
15.20E 45.10N Croatian
11.85E 51.18N Eulau(Ger)
10.40E 50.40N German

Given an origin point for the specific haplotype, as seen above, the migratory path of the genetic line can be determined. As more and more archaeologists avail themselves of the ability to perform DNA testing on remains, the accuracy of the migratory path - and the root relationships of the DNA to the culture which dominated the geographic - will be revealed. An example of this was recently provided by the 4600 year old family remains exhumed in Eulau Germany[9] with their connection to the Corded Ware Culture and Goseck circle.

Archaeoastronomy

Goseck circle. The yellow lines represent the direction the Sun rises and sets at the winter solstice, while the vertical line shows the astronomical meridian - as pointed out by Gerald Hawkins, there is only one latitude where these lines would be 90 degrees apart, and that is where the Eulau family chose to reside.

[ILLUSTRATION: Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Stonehenge is located at 51.18N latitude - see comment on Goseck Circle for signifigance.]

In astronomical terms, Goseck Circle is as unique as Stonehenge. That an R-M17 family is associated with it - in 2600BCE [39], the period of Stonehenge and Great Pyramid - serves as a significant indication of the importance which will befall DNA Spread Theory in the years ahead. It might not be too much to suggest it will take on an archaeological or historical significance comparable to Darwinian Evolution in Biology.

Researchers (Haak et al) described the find with these words: "Synthesis of Integrative Studies. This multidisciplinary study has revealed detailed information about the daily lives, the social organization, and the death of a Stone Age community in Central Europe 4,600-years ago. By a combination of methods, we are able to gain a detailed insight into parent-offspring relations (nuclear families) and possibly the association of related generations (extended families), as well as the marriage system (exogamy)." [40]

As an example of how this find comports with the above chart, it is noted that the haplotypes were incomplete, but consistent with, 16/12/25/11/(?)/(13).[41][42] The degraded DYS392, in the presence of reported values at DYS389I/456/458/439/Y-GATA indicate future applications of DNA Spread Theory might need to incorporate one or more of those sites.

[ILLUSTRATION: Plan of the central stone structure today. After Johnson 2008]

An interesting curiosity is seen by where Eulau falls in the migration chart. As the research is new and ongoing, observations of similarities are being used here in expectation of replacement by findings - such as those at Eulau - being published in peer-review journals.

Reference Research
^ Ibn Khaldun, quoted by Patai, Raphael, The Arab Mind, rev. ed., Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1983, 20
^ Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age, Wolfgang Haak et al, PNAS. US, on-line before print, 10.1073/pnas.0807592105, November 17, 2008
^ ’Stonehenge Decoded’, Gerald S Hawkins in collaboration with John B. White, Doubleday & Co, 1965
^ Numbers 31:17
^ Numbers 36:6
^ Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries
^ Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews
^ Sex-Specific Migration Patterns in Central Asian Populations, Revealed by Analysis of Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats and mtDNA
^ 18226–18231 ?PNAS November 25, 2008 vol.105 no.47, Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age, Wolfgang Haak et al
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 69:1095–1112, 2001, Almut Nebel et al, The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 66:674–686, 2000, Mark G. Thomas et al, Y Chromosomes Traveling South: The Cohen Modal Haplotype and the Origins of the Lemba - the "Black Jews of Southern Africa"
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 73:000–000, 2003, Doron M. Behar et al, Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 72:313–332, 2003, T. Kivisild et al, The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations
^ Hum Genet (2004) 114 : 127–148, DOI 10.1007/s00439-003-1031-4, Cengiz Cinniog?lu et al, Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 70:1107–1124, 2002, Raheel Qamar et al, Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan
^ Indian Academy of Sciences, Journal of Genetics, Vol. 80, No. 3, December 2001, NAMITA MUKHERJEE et al, resolution analysis of Y chromosomal polymorphisms reveals signatures of population movements from Central Asia and West Asia into India
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 73:524–539, 2003, Maria-Catira Bortolini et al, Y-Chromosome Evidence for Differing Ancient Demographic Histories in the Americas
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 69:1314–1331, 2001, David Gresham et al, Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies)
^ Mol. Biol. Evol. 19(7):1008–1021. 2002, Accepted January 25, 2002, Michael E. Weale, et al, Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration
^ Hum Genet (2000) 107 :630–641, DOI 10.1007/s004390000426, Almut Nebel et al, High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews
^ Elena Bosch Fuste, Barcelona, febrer del 2000, ISBN:84-688-2285-X, Diversitat genomica a les poblacions del nord d'Africa
^ Hum Genet (2001) 109 :659–674, DOI 10.1007/s00439-001-0627-9, Michael E. Weale et al, Armenian Y chromosome haplotypes reveal strong regional structure within a single ethno-national group
^ Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 3(2):26-46, 2007, Steven C. Bird, Haplogroup E3b1a2 as a Possible Indicator of Settlement in Roman Britain by Soldiers of Balkan Origin
^ European Journal of Human Genetics (2003) 11, 705–709, www.nature.com/ejhg, Himla Soodyall et al, Genealogy and genes: tracing the founding fathers of Tristan da Cunha
^ Forensic Science International 138 (2003) 127–133, Lovorka Barac et al, Y chromosome STRs in Croatians
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 74:000–000, 2004, Lev A. Zhivotovsky et al, The Effective Mutation Rate at Y Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats, with Application to Human Population-Divergence Time
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 65:208–219, 1999, Anna Pe´rez-Lezaun et al, Sex-Specific Migration Patterns in Central Asian Populations, Revealed by Analysis of Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats and mtDNA
^ DNA Consulting, 2003-2006,Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 68:432–443, 2001, Cristian Capelli et al
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 65:1623–1638, 1999, Elena Bosch et al
^ European Journal of Human Genetics (2005) 13, 388–391, Almut Nebel et al, Published online 3 November 2004
^ Am. J. Hum. Genet. 70:1594–1596, 2002, ALMUT NEBEL et al
^ Mol. Biol. Evol. 21(1):164–175. 2004, DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msh009, Stephen L. Zegura et al
^ Current Biology, Vol. 13, 979–984, May 27, 2003, ?2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. DOI 10.1016/S0960-9822(03)00373-7, Cristian Capelli et al
^ Forensic Science Journal 2003; Vol. 2, No. 1 (2:69-76), Hsing-Mei Hsieh et al
^ to be added
^ to be added
^ to be added
^ Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age, Wolfgang Haak et al, PNAS, November 25, 2008, vol. 105, no. 47, 18229
^ ibid, Wolfgang Haak et al, PNAS, November 25, 2008, vol. 105, no. 47, 18229
^ Supporting Information, Haak et al. 10.1073/pnas.0807592105
^ The results were described in a slightly different manner: "These results are supported by the very recent data on excavation of R1a (SNP SRY10831.2) and presumably R1a1 haplotypes near Eulau, Germany. The 4,600 old haplotypes follow with dating performed using strontium isotope analysis: 13(14)-25-16-11-11-14-X-Y-10-13-Z-30-15 These very closely resemble the above R1a1 ancestral haplotype in Germany both in the structure and in the dating (4,700 and 4,600 ybp)." DNA Genealogy, Mutation Rates, and Some Historical Evidences Written in Y-Chromosome, Anatole A. Klyosov, Nature Precedings : hdl:10101/npre.2008.2733.1 : Posted 29 Dec 2008
Full Disclosure Statement[43]
^ For four months September 2, 2007 (when Anatole contacted him), and for about four months thereafter, the initial author of this article and Anatole A. Klyosov -- author of the article cited as second reference in Eulau DNA sequence appearing in Nature Precedings:hdl:10101/npre.2008.2733.1:Posted 29 Dec 2008 -- were informal research associates discussing a collaborative work for Willey & Sons. Lipton introduced Klyosov to the Chenchu connection, and Klyosov introduced Lipton to the finds at Arkaim stone circles. Anatole Alex KLYOSOV is a chemist, biochemist and genetic researcher.

Reference papers utilized for initial analysis
1. The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East[10]
2. Y Chromosomes Traveling South: The Cohen Modal Haplotype and the Origins of the Lemba - the "Black Jews of Southern Africa [11]
3. Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries[12]
4. The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations[13]
5. Excavating Y-chromosome haplotype strata in Anatolia[14]
6. Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan[15]
7. High resolution analysis of Y chromosomal polymorphisms reveals signatures of population movements from Central Asia and West Asia into India [16]
8. Y-Chromosome Evidence for Differing Ancient Demographic Histories in the Americas [17]
9. Origins and Divergence of the Roma (Gypsies) [18]
10. Y Chromosome Evidence for Anglo-Saxon Mass Migration [19]
11. High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews [20]
12. Diversitat genomica a les poblacions del nord d'Africa [21]
13. Armenian Y chromosome haplotypes reveal strong regional structure within a single ethno-national group [22]
14. Haplogroup E3b1a2 as a Possible Indicator of Settlement in Roman Britain by Soldiers of Balkan Origin [23]
15. Genealogy and genes: tracing the founding fathers of Tristan da Cunha [24]
16. Y chromosome STRs in Croatians [25]
17. The Effective Mutation Rate at Y Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats, with Application to Human Population-Divergence Time [26]
18. Sex-Specific Migration Patterns in Central Asian Populations, Revealed by Analysis of Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats and mtDNA [27]
Additional Relevant Sources
A. Conversion Table for Y-Chromosome Haplogroups (available online)[28]
B. A Predominantly Indigenous Paternal Heritage for the Austronesian- Speaking Peoples of Insular Southeast Asia and Oceania[29]
C. Variation in Short Tandem Repeats Is Deeply Structured by Genetic Background on the Human Y Chromosome [30]
D. Y chromosome evidence for a founder effect in Ashkenazi Jews[31]
E. Genetic Evidence for the Expansion of Arabian Tribes into the Southern Levant and North Africa (Letters to the Editor - ALMUT NEBEL et al) [32]
F. High-Resolution SNPs and Microsatellite Haplotypes Point to a Single, Recent Entry of Native American Y Chromosomes into the Americas [33]
G. A Y Chromosome Census of the British Isles[34]
H. Screening of Y-chromosome STR Loci in Taiwanese Populations[35]
to be added[36]
to be added[37]
to be added[38]