So very true. I don't know if there is another field that is more agenda driven that historical genetics. Everyone has a bias. Everyone. In this very thread Maciamo (the founder of this site) stated that R1b COULD have been in Paleolithic Europe.
I COULD win a million dollars in the lottery tomorrow, COULD be named as one of People Magazine's top fifty sexyist human-beings on the planet, COULD win the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature... but COULD isn't really that scientific.
And lest you think I'm above such nonsense, I'm not. I'm as pro hg. I1 as anyone I've seen posting here. I do try to let the facts speak for themselves, but yes at times I'll jump into a "haplogroup war" for kicks. The very nature of this subject matter does foster bias.
Some of us are more honest about it than others.
Nordic Quarreler...I know we don't really count, but some of us don't even HAVE yDNA,
I'm one of those people, and I don't even KNOW my father's yDNA, nor, other than to satisfy my curiosity, am I much interested in finding out. Certainly I'm not interested enough to strong arm my reluctant relatives into getting genetic testing. Given his origins, some form of U-152 is a good bet, but others are very possible, and I'm sure I have G2a, E-V13, maybe some 12a and J2a among my ancestors too, at least from the studies I've seen. Am I supposed to have a favorite? And in what contest? Which one first set foot in "Europe"? I honestly couldn't care less. Which one is "Indo-European"? Franky, I don't get what all the fuss is about, again, other than for historical interest.
I do know my mtDNA...it's U2e. Doesn't make me feel any particular sense of identity with Eastern European/Western Siberian hunter gatherers either.
Europe is such a jumble genetically...if nothing else, the Lazaridis et al paper should prove that.
Plus, you may not credit it, but some of us became interested in this field totally as a result of academic interests, and with no preconceptions whatsoever.
At any rate, whatever prejudices or bias anyone may or may not have, just as a matter of integrity one should attempt to lay them aside and analyze (and present) the data as honestly and objectively as humanly possible.