WELSH
and Irishmen are genetic blood-brothers of the Basque people,
according to a study published today.
The
findings provide the first direct evidence of a close relationship
between the people thought of as Celts and the Basques.
The
Basques are thought to be the closest descendants of the Palaeolithic
people who established the first settlements in Britain more
than 10,000 years ago.
The
evidence of a link is in a study by James Wilson and Prof David
Goldstein of University College London, with colleagues at Oxford
University and the University of California, Davis. The study
is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences.
The
team looked for similarities between the Y chromosomes –
only carried by men – of 88 “Celtic fringe” individuals
from Anglesey, North Wales, 146 from Ireland with Irish Gaelic
surnames, and 150 Basques, revealing “remarkable’
similarities.
The
Celts carried the early Y chromosome, said the study, which
provides the first clear evidence of a close relationship in
the paternal heritage of Basque and Celtic speaking populations.
“They were statistically indistinguishable’, said
Prof Goldstein.
BY
ROGER HIGHFIELD - SCIENCE EDITOR
Tuesday,
April 3, 2001 THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
