Haplogroups in the Crabtree
Project
Each
of us has a haplotype which is identified, directly or indirectly, as a result
of our Y-chromosome and/or autosomal test.
This haplotype, or complete set of alleles, provides a pointer to our
ancient origin which is measured in geological time. A haplogoup is a cluster of similar
haplotypes.
During the Palaeolithic period
18,000 years ago, Europe was in the grip of the last ice age. Glacial ice 2km
thick covered much of Northern Europe and the Alps. Sea levels were approximately 125m lower than
today and the coastline differed from the present day - for example, Britain
and Ireland were connected to continental Europe.
The
Neanderthals died out around 14,000 years ago leaving the nomadic
hunter-gatherer Cro-Magnon (modern man) to pursue the animals of the time. Due to the cold, the arid conditions and the resultant
scarcity of food, the populations of the day in Europe were concentrated in
three areas in which they waited for the departure of the ice age. These were the Iberian Peninsula, the Balkans
and the Ukraine.
Coming forward 2,000 years, the ice had retreated and the land became much more
supportive to life. Many animal species
returned to inhabit the land. The land
bridges re-flooded, England and Ireland were again separated from Europe. People started to move north again to inhabit
new lands where food was available.
However,
by the time migration was able to occur, the three groups of humans in Spain,
the Balkans and the Ukraine had been both static and separated from one another
for so long that their DNA had naturally picked up mutations. The mutations can now be defined into
different haplogroups, known as R1b, I and R1a.
- Haplogroup R1b is common on the western Atlantic coast as far as Scotland.
- Haplogroup I is common across central Europe and up into Scandinavia.
- Haplogroup R1a is common in eastern Europe and has also spread into central
Asia and as far as India and Pakistan.
These three major haplogroups account for approx 80% of Europe's present-day
population.
Crabtree Project.
In
the Crabtree project, the members almost entirely fall within two haplogroups:
The
maps below show the general movement patterns of these groups, and the more
specific migration patterns of the two groups relating to Crabtrees.
General Movement Patterns
Movement
Patterns of the I haplogroup
Haplogroup I1 is the
most common type of haplogroup I in northern Europe. It is found mostly in
Scandinavia and Finland, where it typically represents over 35% of the Y
chromosomes. Associated with the Norse ethnicity, I1 is found in all places
invaded by ancient Germanic tribes and the Vikings. After the core of ancient
Germanic civilization in Scandinavia, the highest frequencies of I1 are
observed in other Germanic-speaking regions, such as Germany, Austria, the Low
Countries, England and the Scottish Lowlands, which all have between 10% and
20% of I1 lineages.
Movement Patterns of the R1b Haplogroup
European R1b is dominated by
R-M269.
The frequency is about 92% in Wales, 82% in Ireland, 70% in Scotland, 68% in Spain,
60% in France (76% in Normandy), about 60% in Portugal, 53% in Italy,[16] 45% in Eastern England, 50% in Germany, 50% in the Netherlands, 42% in Iceland, and 43% in Denmark. It is as high as 95% in parts of Ireland. It is also found in some areas of North Africa, where its frequency peaks at 10% in some parts
of Algeria.
It
has been found at generally low frequencies throughout central Eurasia, but
with relatively high frequency among the Bashkirs of
the Perm region
(84.0%) and Baymaksky District (81.0%). This
marker is present in China and India at frequencies of less than 1%.
My Comments
Where the link in the
Crabtree surname in the two haplogroups, I and R1b, occurred has not been
established. Based on the research of
extant documents done by many of the Project members with y-DNA results in both
haplogroups, it appears fairly certain that all Crabtrees who have now settled
in various parts of the world migrated from England at some time since the
early sixteenth century. It is also
apparent that some of the members originated from the Spanish migration through
France to England, and others from the Balkan migration through Germany to
Scandinavia, and hence to England.
Attribution
The above information is
abbreviated from the DNA Heritage Masterclass website where it may be read in
its entirety – see www.dnaheritage.com
→ masterclass →
haplogroups. The remainder of the
information is extracted from Wikipedia under the respective haplogroup titles.