I-M223 Roots 1 Ancestral Journey

Gábor Balogh, 2011

CT, M168

F, M89

I, M170

I2, M438

I2, M460

I2a2a, M223

I2a2, M436

History of Haplogroup I - background

I is the oldest haplogroup in Europe and in all probability the only one that originated there (apart from deep subclades of other haplogroups). It is thought to have arrived from the Middle East as haplogroup IJ around 35,000 years ago, and developed into haplogroup I approximately 25,000 years ago. This means that Cro-Magnons most probably belonged (exclusively?) to IJ or I. Nowadays haplogroup I accounts for 10 to 45% of the population in most of Europe.

- Haplogroup I1 - Haplogroup I2 might have originated in southeastern Europe some 17,000 years ago and

developed into four main subgroups: I2a1, I2a2, I2a2a and I2b2. - I2a2a (formerly I2b1) is associated with the pre Celto-Germanic people of North-Western

Europe, such as the megaliths builders (5000-1200 BCE). The wide variety of STR markers within I2a2a could make it as much as 13,000 years old.

I2b is found in all Western Europe, but apparently survived better the Indo-European invasions in northern Germany, and was reintroduced by the Germanic invasions during the late Roman period. Nowadays, I2a2a peaks in central and northern Germany (10-20%), the Benelux (10-15%) as well as in northern Sweden. It is also found in 3 to 10% of the inhabitants of Denmark, East England, and Northern France. It is rare in Norway, which concords with the fact that it hasn't been invaded by people from northern Germany.

Haplogroup I2a2a has been found in over 4% of the population only in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, England (not including Wales or Cornwall), Scotland, and the southern tips of Sweden and Norway in Northwest Europe. Also in the provinces of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Perche in northwestern France; the province of Provence in southeastern France; Moldavia and the area around Russia's Ryazan Oblast in Eastern Europe.

The subclade divergence for M223 occurred 14.6±3.8 kya. Haplogroup I2a2a can be further subdivided in 5 subgroups. Haplogroup I2a2a* with no further known polymorphisms, Haplogroup I2a2a1 with M284 polymorphism with an undergroup Haplogroup I2a2a1a with the L126/S165, L137/S166 polymorphisms, Haplogroup I2a2a2 with P78 polymorphism, and Haplogroup I2a2a3 with P95 polymorphism. The age of YSTR variation for the M223 subclade is 13.2±2.7 kya and 12.3±3.1 kya.

Distribution of haplogroup I2a2a in Europe:

I.

Haplogroup CT (M168):

I2a2a’s Earliest Ancestor, the Eurasian Adam

Time of Emergence: Roughly 50,000 BC, 1600 generations ago

Place of Origin: The African Rift Valley

Skeletal and archaeological evidence suggest that anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa

around 200,000 years ago, and began moving out of Africa to colonize the rest of the world around

60,000 years ago.

Eurasian Adam probably lived in the region of the Rift Valley in northeast Africa, perhaps in

present-day Ethiopia, Kenya or Tanzania. Over time, a few thousand of his descendants migrated

out of Africa, across the Bab el-Mandeb – the outlet of the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean – at a

time when the water was low enough to allow safe passage in small boats or even over dry land.

His descendants became the only lineage to survive outside of humanity’s home continent of

Africa. (Other lineages had made their way out of Africa earlier, but died out as a result of dramatic

climate changes. One such change occurred when Mount Toba in Sumatra erupted.) Population

growth during the Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age) may have spurred these nomadic people to

follow the plains animals which were their food supply. Improved tools and rudimentary art

appeared during this epoch, suggesting there were significant mental and behavioral changes in

mankind. It has been suggested that these changes were spurred by a genetic mutation that gave

Eurasian Adam’s descendants a cognitive advantage over other contemporary, now extinct,

lineages.

II.

Haplogroup F (M89): Moving Through the Middle East

Time of Emergence: 45,000 BC, 1400 generations ago Place: Middle East An estimated 90 to 95 percent of all non-African males are descendants of one or another of those great migrations out of Africa. Their DNA contains marker M89. This marker first appeared about 45,000 years ago in the Middle East, arising from the original lineage of M168. It defines a large inland migration of nomadic hunters who followed expanding grasslands in the Middle East. Humankind numbered only in the tens of thousands. At this time much of the Earth’s water was frozen in massive ice sheets, which had gradually increased in size. Vast grasslands, called steppes, stretched from present-day France to present-day Korea. Many of the grassland hunters of the M89 lineage traveled east along this steppe highway and eventually peopled much of Asia. Others set a different course. They went west, moving into Europe, trading their familiar grasslands for forests and high country. Though their numbers were small, genetic traces of their journey are still found today. Archaelogical data indicates they dispersed on two routes: a northern route along the Danube, and a southern route along the coast of the Mediterranean. This period saw modern humans develop a much more sophisticated culture than any of their predecessors: new forms of stone tools, standardization and improved knapping technology, which themselves reflected greater use of animal bone, wood and hides; a huge increase in the use of jewelry and bodily decoration. Across Europe evidence appears of musical instruments formal burials, portable art, such as the Venus figurines animal carvings and, above all, the cave art best known from the spectacular animal paintings in northern Spain, southern and central France, in caves such as Altamira, Chauvet and Lascaux. Most likely the hunter-artist was highly mobile and familiar with both the art and the animals of the south. Humans increased in numbers as their efficiency as hunters improved – with better tools and weapons and increased ability to communicate and co-operate. The climate improved for several thousand years from 43,000 BP at the time when modern humans first colonized western Europe.

III.

Haplogroup I (M170): Occupying the Balkans Time of Emergence: 22,000 BC, 670 generations ago

Place of Origin: Southeastern Europe

Gravettian culture of the Upper Paleolithic. The I2a2a ancestors were part of the M89 Middle Eastern Clan that continued to migrate northwest into the Balkans and eventually spread into Central Europe. These people may have been responsible for the expansion of the prosperous Gravettian culture, which spread through northern Europe from about 21,000 to 28,000 years ago. But this improvement in the climate would not endure. Early occupation of Europe was arrested then reversed, as another prolonged period of severe cold gripped the continent—the last Ice Age. It continued for thousands of years; it’s most severe stage is called the Last Glacial Maximum, or LGM, which encompassed the furthest extent of the ice sheets upon the land. Mankind could do little more than survive, and was forced to retreat south to a few scattered enclaves in Asia and Europe. Iberia was one, the Ukraine another. The M89 lineage sought refuge in the Balkans, likely concentrated in the Southern Carpathian Mountains, where it survived through the LGM. Scientists speculate that human enclaves favored the high ground because it provided commanding views of the territory below and maximized sunlight by avoiding the shadows of the valleys. At this time our species numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but the earth could not support an increase in Homo sapiens sapiens. The emphasis was merely on survival. During this time, it isn’t possible to venture too far north within Europe as the ice sheets cover much of northern Europe and tundra exists for several miles beneath them. The humans in this part of the world are relatively recent visitors and are not so adapted to the colder climes as are the people of Siberia. The man who gave rise to marker M170, was born about 20,000 years ago and was heir to this heritage. He was probably born in one of the isolated refuge areas people were forced to occupy during the last blast of the Ice Age in the Balkans. As the ice sheets covering much of Europe began to retreat around 15,000 years ago, his descendants likely played a central role in repopulating northern Europe.

IV. Haplogroup I2 (S31, P215, M438) Time of Emergence: 20,000 BC, 610 generations ago

Place of Origin: Serbia

Man survived the last Ice Age, proving just how tough and adaptable the human race is. As the climate moderated and the ice sheets receded, he started to abandon his mountain refuges and move to lower ground, following those large game animals which were his food source. He then set out to reclaim Europe. This line was one of the haplogroups in the vanguard of this recolonization process, and in fact he represented Northern Europe’s main internal migrating male Mesolithic-Neolithic component. He proposes a specific area to which this gene group might have migrated, and he identifies it—quite logically—as a locale in southeastern Europe known to have later been populated by ancient civilizations. The restricted immediate post-LGM Balkans location would place the source and highest frequency of this group at the centre of the oldest European Neolithic cultural zone, including the Starčevo, and allied Balkan Neolithic cultures, Körös, Criş and Karanovo. Simply stated, this group came down from the mountains and settled along the Danube River basin. Starčevo is a site located on the north bank of the Danube, opposite Belgrade in Serbia. The location is also indicated by the concentration of the marker among present-day DNA donors. The name of the town means “the place of the old man” in Serbian. This marker is called S31 by EthnoAncestry, P215 by Family Tree DNA and M438 by Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. Over the generations, more mutation markers sprang up in the DNA of this line. Geneticists have decided these markers define subclades within the gene group, and over the span of a few thousand years this group splintered into a handful of these subclades. Over time they became geographically dispersed, but the frequency of Haplogroup I in any location was never very great. One subclade made its way southwest along the coast of the Mediterranean, one went north to Scandinavia, one moved northeast into Russia. And one line proceeded northwest, following natural features such as river basins, eventually settling in modern-day Germany. Later, this line moved north and west along the Danube (taking the same northern route used by early man) and eventually made his way into Germany.

V. Haplogroup I2 (L460)

Time of Emergence: 19,000 BC, 580 generations ago

Place: Along the Danube

This marker was discovered by Family Tree DNA’s Genomics Research Center in May of 2011.

So far, not much is known (or even speculated) about the location of its origination.

VI. Haplogroup I2a2 (M436, S33, P214) Time of Emergence: 18,000 BC, 550 generations ago Place: Present Day Germany

This marker labeled S33 by EthnoAncestry, P214 by Family Tree DNA and M436 by Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. The marker’s relative concentration in Europe is established by the distribution of the present-day DNA donor samples. Although written information about this marker is scarce, much can be inferred from a descendant marker labeled M223. According to the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, that marker occurs at a moderate frequency among populations of Northwest Europe, with a peak frequency in the region of Lower Saxony in central Germany, making it easy to imagine a migration from the Starčevo zone to the north then the west along the Danube.

These self-reliant people still sought big game as their food source. But the ice was not done with mankind yet, and they were forced to again become survivors. Over the centuries leading up to 12,500 years ago, the weather became more and more erratic; it grew colder, and human activity declined. Around 12,300 years ago Europe plunged into another severe glaciation, known as the Younger Dryas – ‘Younger’ because there had been a couple of other chills in the preceding few thousand years, and ‘Dryas’ because the hardy polar wild flower Dryas octopetala flourished during these cold spells, and is detected in deposits by its pollen. The Younger Dryas was extremely cold and arid, and lasted about 1,500 years. Ice caps re-expanded over Scandinavia, with the resulting fall in sea levels, and even reformed on the Scottish Grampians and the Pennines. This vast increase in ice caused the sea levels to drop. This group continued to push west, and with the sea level dropping lower, more and more land was becoming available to them.

VII.

Haplogroup I2a2a (M223) Time of Emergence: 13,000 BC, 400 generations ago

Place: Doggerland

The founder of this marker lived somewhere in the northwestern regions of the European continent, perhaps even in what seems a very unlikely place: the bed of what is now the North Sea. At the time of the great post-LGM European expansion of 15,000 years ago, there was no North Sea. Instead, there was a flat grassy plain stretching all the way from England through southern Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Frisia and Holland across the North Sea. In fact, had they wished, our forebears could have walked in a straight line all the way from Berlin to Belfast, although they seemed to prefer wandering along beaches. Doggerland would have covered an area about the size of England, a tundra landscape across which vast herds of reindeer and horses plodded, where salmon spawned in its prolific rivers. As the climate warmed, oak woodland colonized the valleys and hills. Red deer, roe deer and wild pig replaced the barren-ground reindeer. It remained an ideal hunting ground. Around the shores there is still plenty of evidence of these coastal changes: waterlogged stumps of prehistoric trees in the Thames estuary, or Cardigan Bay, where the sea has drowned magnificent ancient forests. Today about 25 percent of all northwest European men are members of this haplogroup. The lineage has three primary sub-clades, and each one is prominent in a different geographic location.

The catastrophic final flooding of Doggerland by the Storegga Slide tsunami

Around 6100 BC, large parts of the now submerged North Sea continental shelf (‘Doggerland’) were catastrophically flooded by the Storegga Slide tsunami, one of the largest tsunamis known for the Holocene, which was generated on the Norwegian coastal margin by a submarine landslide. The three Storegga Slides are considered to be amongst the largest known landslides. They occurred under water, at the edge of Norway's continental shelf (Storegga is Norwegian for "the Great Edge"), in the Norwegian Sea, 100 km north-west of the Møre coast, causing a very large tsunami in the North Atlantic Ocean. This collapse involved an estimated 290 km length of coastal shelf, with a total volume of 3,500 km3 of debris. Based on carbon dating of plant material recovered from sediment deposited by the tsunami, the latest incident occurred around 6100 BC. In Scotland, traces of the subsequent tsunami have been recorded, with deposited sediment being discovered in Montrose Basin, the Firth of Forth, up to 80 km inland and 4 metres above current normal tide levels. Although Doggerland was physically submerged through a gradual rise in sea level, it has been suggested that coastal areas of both Britain and mainland Europe, extending over areas which are now submerged, would have been inundated by a tsunami triggered by the Storegga Slide. This event would have had a catastrophic impact on the contemporary Mesolithic population, and separated cultures in Britain from those on the European mainland.

VIII.

The Cimbri and Sicambri Time: 2nd century BC, 65 generations ago Place: Lower Rhine near the present-day Netherlands.

The Cimbri were a tribe from Northern Europe, who, together with the Teutones and the Ambrones threatened the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC. The Cimbri were probably Germanic, though some believe them to be of Celtic origin. The ancient sources located their original home in Jütland, in present-day Denmark, which was referred to as the Cimbrian peninsula throughout antiquity. In sources beginning with the Royal Frankish Annals, the Merovingian kings of the Franks traditionally traced their lineage through a pre-Frankish tribe called the Sicambri who came from Gelderland in modern Netherlands and are named for the Sieg river.

The Cymbrian flood

The Cymbrian flood (or Cimbrian flood) was a large-scale incursion of the sea in the region of the Jütland peninsula in the period 120 to 114 BC, resulting in a permanent alteration of the coastline with much land lost. This disaster killed many, and sent others living in the area south, in search of new lands. It was one of a number of such conflagrations of nature in northwest Europe during the Roman period, the climate between 300 BC and about 100 AD producing frequent storms and the blowing of sand near the coast.

The journey

Moving south-east

Some time before 100 BC many of the Cimbri, as well as the Teutones and Ambrones migrated south-east. After several unsuccessful battles with the Boii and other Celtic tribes, they appeared ca 113 BC in Noricum, where they invaded the lands of one of Rome's allies, the Taurisci. On the request of the Roman consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo, sent to defend the Taurisci, they retreated, only to find themselves deceived and attacked at the Battle of Noreia, where they defeated the Romans. Only a storm, which separated the combatants, saved the Roman forces from complete annihilation.

Invading Gaul

Now the road to Italy was open, but they turned west towards Gaul. They came into frequent conflict with the Romans, who usually came out the losers. In 109 BC, they defeated a Roman army under the consul Marcus Junius Silanus, who was the commander of Gallia Narbonensis. The same year, they defeated another Roman army under the consul Gaius Cassius Longinus, who was killed at Burdigala (modern day Bordeaux). In 107 BC, the Romans once again lost against the Tigurines, who were allies of the Cimbri.

The Cimbri changed their tribal name (Kimbern) to Sicambri (Sugambrer), joining a Germanic tribe living around the lower Rhine near the present-day Netherlands.

The Sicambri (Sugambri)

The Sugambri are generally classified as Germanics, although they probably had Celtic ancestry as well and had a culture similar to that of those Celts who lived to their west. The name of the Sugambri is related to the old High German word gambar, for "vigorous."

The Romans under Julius Caesar crossed the Rhine in 55 b.c.e. and made war on the Sugambri and on their allies living to the north, the Usipetes and beyond them the Tencteri. The Sugambri, however, remained powerful for years, carrying out raids across the Rhine, such as against the Celtic Eburones in 53 b.c.e.

In 8 c.e. Tiberius defeated the Sugambri, relocating most tribal members to the west bank of the Rhine at Cibernodorum (modern Xanten).

IX.

The German knights Time: 1000 AD, 30 generations ago Place: From Germany to the Kingdom of Hungary („Ostsiedlung”)

"Post illos Altmann intrat de Fridburc miles coridatus ex patria Turingorum, de isto illi de Bolugi

oriuntur.”

(Simonis de Keza: Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum, 1282-1285)

From 895 AD to 902 AD the whole area of the Carpathian Basin was conquered by the Hungarians. After that, an early Hungarian state (the Principality of Hungary, founded in 895) was formed in this territory. The ruling prince (fejedelem) Géza of the Árpád dynasty, who ruled only part of the united territory, the nominal overlord of all seven Magyar tribes, aimed to integrate Hungary into Christian Western Europe, rebuilding the state according to the Western political and social model. He established a dynasty by naming his son Vajk (the later King Stephen I of Hungary) as his successor.

Chief prince Géza relied first and foremost on the clergymen and German knights to carry out his plans. To realize his strive for centralisation he needed the help of his strong military escort. He replaced the pagan tribal leaders and heads of clans with Christian German knights, who supported him loyally, and who were likely to get the property of the rebelling leaders. These knights formed the center of the heavily armed forces. The Hungarian soldiers were equipped only with light weapons.

There had been a migration of German Christian knights into the rich and fertile plains of Hungary. These newcomers took up land and they also labored to make converts of the peasantry. Many Magyars not unnaturally resented this infiltration, which they thought jeopardized their territorial rights and their ancient pagan customs. They rose in revolt under the leadership of Koppány, a man of great valor. Stephen met the insurgents himself, having prepared for battle by fasting, almsdeeds, and prayer, and invoking the aid of St. Martin of Tours, whom he had chosen as his patron. The historic meeting took place at Veszprem in 998, and though Stephen's forces were inferior in size to those of the rebels, with the help of the German knights he won a famous victory. Koppány was slain. The leaders of István's guardsmen were Hont and Pázmány, Swabian knights, Altmann from Thüringia; Herman, Wolfer and Konrad from Nürnberg; and the bavarian Gottfried and Poth. The Swabian guest (hospes), Vecellin took the lead of the army, and he killed Koppány near Veszprém during the battle. The foreigners who were staying at the court arrived in the country with Gizella, and their role was very important; not only in armed fights, but in other respects as well. Their activity in the church and politics was of equal importance: the ruler followed their advice in governing the country. During the organising of the castle districts and counties, the developed western form made its way into public administration. Centers that guaranteed the king's power had to be established, and these centers were the castles. Altmann and his family was settled in Vámosbalog (Großsteffelsdorf) in the Balog Valley, changing his family name to Balog (Bolug). The Balog Castle (Balogvár) was built much later, around 1290, by Henrik, son of Oth. The king Karol Robert gave the Castle to another branch of the family, to the Széchy branch in 1323, because of their support against Máté Csák, the Kings' rival. In the same year it was renovated in gothic style, and in 1483 it was extended and fortifications were added. Until the 17th century the Castle remained in the possession of the Széchy branch of the family.