Modern analyzes on Ancient DNA continue to rewrite the history of human migrations: recent studies by an international team of researchers have revealed this fact new connections between the Vikingsthe Scandinavian populations and decidedly distant territories such as Ukraine and the United Kingdom, anticipating by centuries the previously accepted dates for these movements.
The new studies on DNA and migration in Great Britain
Research conducted by an international team led by Dr. Leo Speidel, with the contribution of University College London (UCL), has highlighted how migrations from Scandinavia to the British Isles are began long before the Viking Agetraditionally dated to the 8th century.
The analysis of DNA from human remains from the Iron Age and the first millennium AD has revealed traces of genetic lineages of Scandinavian origin in Great Britain as early as the Roman period.
Reconstruction of a Viking ship: according to a recent discovery after DNA studies, the Scandinavian peoples would have reached Ukraine and Great Britain much earlier than assumed
According to Professor Mark Thomas of UCL, this data “shows that there was a significant Scandinavian genetic contribution to the British gene pool centuries before the Viking raids”, and probably also a series of commercial and cultural interactions between local populations and the Scandinavians well before the period documented in historical chronicles.
The Vikings in Ukraine
Another study, carried out by researchers from an international consortium coordinated by the University of Copenhagen, has instead brought to light connections between the Vikings and the lands of modern-day Ukraine.
The use of advanced genetic sequencing techniques to analyze human remains found along the Dnieper River, an important trade route of the time, has highlighted that populations of Scandinavian origin were present in the region as early as the 9th century, contributing to the formation of multicultural communities which would influence the birth of Kievan Rus’ (a medieval monarchical entity of the Eastern Slavs).
As an article published on Discover Magazinethe Vikings were not only warriors, but also as skilled traders, which allowed them to establish networks which stretched from the Norwegian fjords to the Black Sea.
The historical implications of the discoveries
These new discoveries have an important bearing on understanding of European historyand demonstrate that migration and mobility were much more widespread than previously assumed.
For example, the study explained how ancient DNA confirmed that many of the migrations associated with the Vikings were not isolated events, but part of a complex network of interactions that included trade, mixed marriages and wars.
This research therefore serves not only to clarify the genetic origins of some European populationsbut also to ask new questions about the interactions between human groups and the mutual influence in the development of different cultures.
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Source: notizie.virgilio.it
