Breakdown of Y-DNA distribution in Belgium by province

[Maciamo]

Here is the distribution of Y-DNA haplogroups by province for Belgium based on the current results from the Brabant DNA project. The project having originated in Flanders, with a special emphasis on the old Duchy of Brabant (provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Brussels) there are far more Flemish samples than Walloon ones at the moment.

Here are first the results for Flanders.


Province of Antwerp

Antwerp region (West) (n=80)

I1 : 11.25%

I2 : 1.25%

I2b : 6.5%

R1b : 63.75%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 27.5%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 28.25%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 16.25%

R1a : 5%

G2a : 3.75%

E1b1b : 6.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.5%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Kempen region (East) (n=84)

I1 : 21.5%

I2a : 3.6%

I2b : 3.6%

R1b : 54.8%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 14.3%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 20.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 7.1%

R1a : 7.1%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 1.2%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.4%

L: 1.2%

Q : 2.4%


Mechelen region (South) (n=66)

I1 : 12.1%

I2 : 3%

I2b : 4.5%

R1b : 56%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 31.8%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 15.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 4.5%

R1a : 3%

G2a : 4.5%

E1b1b : 4.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 1.5%

J2 : 6%

L: 3%

Q : 1.5%


Province of Flemish Brabant (n=134)

I1 : 12.75%

I2 : 3%

I2a : 0.75%

I2b : 4.5%

R1b : 55.2%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 19.4%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 21.6%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 9.7%

R1a : 3.75%

G2a : 3.75%

E1b1b : 8.2%

T : 0%

J1 : 3%

J2 : 4.5%

L: 0.75%

Q : 0%


Province of Limburg (n=70)

I1 : 5.7%

I2 : 1.4%

I2b : 4.3%

R1b : 61.4%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 22.8%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 27.1%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 10%

R1a : 10%

G2a : 5.7%

E1b1b : 8.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.8%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Province of East Flanders (n=120)

I1 : 12.5%

I2 : 2.5%

I2a : 3.3%

I2b : 5.8%

R1b : 61.6%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 24.2%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 21.7%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 13.3%

R1a : 4.2%

G2a : 0.8%

E1b1b : 0.8%

T : 1.7%

J1 : 1.7%

J2 : 5%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Province of West Flanders (n=141)

I1 : 15.7%

I2a : 1.4%

I2b : 2.1%

R1b : 66%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 27%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 24.8%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 10%

R1a : 2.1%

G2a : 2.1%

E1b1b : 7.1%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.9%

L: 0%

Q : 0.7%

[Maciamo]

Here are the temporary results for Wallonia (only 10% completed). Due to the small number of samples for each province, I have compiled an average for all Wallonia.

Wallonia (n=55)

I1 : 10.9%

I2 : 1.8%

I2b : 7.2%

R1b : 60%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 18.2%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 18.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 16.4%

R1a : 3.6%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 7.2%

T : 3.6%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 1.8%

L: 0%

Q : 0%

[willy]

Here are the temporary results for Wallonia (only 10% completed). Due to the small number of samples for each province, I have compiled an average for all Wallonia.

Wallonia (n=55)

I1 : 10.9%

I2 : 1.8%

I2b : 7.2%

R1b : 60%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 18.2%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 18.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 16.4%

R1a : 3.6%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 7.2%

T : 3.6%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 1.8%

L: 0%

Q : 0%

Thank you could you please give us the link of the official scientific paper about this very interesting studies
Grateful
Nico

[Maciamo]

Thank you could you please give us the link of the official scientific paper about this very interesting studies
Grateful
Nico

It's not a scientific paper; as stated in the OP it is the Brabant DNA Project (linked above), sponsored by the Flemish government. Only members have access to results by province.

[Yorkie]

Here is the distribution of Y-DNA haplogroups by province for Belgium based on the current results from the Brabant DNA project. The project having originated in Flanders, with a special emphasis on the old Duchy of Brabant (provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Brussels) there are far more Flemish samples than Walloon ones at the moment.

Here are first the results for Flanders.


Province of Antwerp

Antwerp region (West) (n=80)

I1 : 11.25%

I2 : 1.25%

I2b : 6.5%

R1b : 63.75%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 27.5%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 28.25%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 16.25%

R1a : 5%

G2a : 3.75%

E1b1b : 6.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.5%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Kempen region (East) (n=84)

I1 : 21.5%

I2a : 3.6%

I2b : 3.6%

R1b : 54.8%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 14.3%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 20.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 7.1%

R1a : 7.1%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 1.2%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.4%

L: 1.2%

Q : 2.4%


Mechelen region (South) (n=66)

I1 : 12.1%

I2 : 3%

I2b : 4.5%

R1b : 56%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 31.8%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 15.2%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 4.5%

R1a : 3%

G2a : 4.5%

E1b1b : 4.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 1.5%

J2 : 6%

L: 3%

Q : 1.5%


Province of Flemish Brabant (n=134)

I1 : 12.75%

I2 : 3%

I2a : 0.75%

I2b : 4.5%

R1b : 55.2%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 19.4%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 21.6%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 9.7%

R1a : 3.75%

G2a : 3.75%

E1b1b : 8.2%

T : 0%

J1 : 3%

J2 : 4.5%

L: 0.75%

Q : 0%


Province of Limburg (n=70)

I1 : 5.7%

I2 : 1.4%

I2b : 4.3%

R1b : 61.4%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 22.8%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 27.1%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 10%

R1a : 10%

G2a : 5.7%

E1b1b : 8.5%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.8%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Province of East Flanders (n=120)

I1 : 12.5%

I2 : 2.5%

I2a : 3.3%

I2b : 5.8%

R1b : 61.6%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 24.2%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 21.7%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 13.3%

R1a : 4.2%

G2a : 0.8%

E1b1b : 0.8%

T : 1.7%

J1 : 1.7%

J2 : 5%

L: 0%

Q : 0%


Province of West Flanders (n=141)

I1 : 15.7%

I2a : 1.4%

I2b : 2.1%

R1b : 66%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 27%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 24.8%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 10%

R1a : 2.1%

G2a : 2.1%

E1b1b : 7.1%

T : 0%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 2.9%

L: 0%

Q : 0.7%

Any ideas as to why Kempen would have such a relatively 'high' [3.6%] share of I2a?

[Aristander]

Kempen region (East) (n=84)

I1 : 21.5%

I2a : 3.6%

I2b : 3.6%

If I am reading this correctly, the amount of I2a equals only 3 individuals out of the 84 sampled. However the I1 and I2b show equally elevated percentages above other regions sampled.

[Maciamo]

If I am reading this correctly, the amount of I2a equals only 3 individuals out of the 84 sampled. However the I1 and I2b show equally elevated percentages above other regions sampled.

84 is still a relatively small sample size, but yes Kempen (the north-east corner of Belgium, along the Netherlands) has an unusually high level of hg I, even higher than the Netherlands and North Germany.

[Maciamo]

As for Brabant DNA Project possess extensive results for the Dutch province of North Brabant as well, it would be a shame not to mention it. Here are the results.

Province of North Brabant (Netherlands) (n=138)

I1 : 7.8%

I2a : 2.2%

I2b : 4.3%

R1b : 65.9%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 34%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 19.5%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 5.8%
- R1b-SRY2627 : 2.9%

R1a : 1.4%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 3.6%

T : 1.4%

J1 : 1.4%

J2 : 7%

L: 0%

Q : 0%



There is a surprisingly low percentage of I1 and R1a, and an unexpectedly high percentage of J1 and J2. Actually all the other studies that I combined to create the Y-DNA frequency table also gave a slightly higher percentage of J2 in the Netherlands than in Belgium or West Germany. The question is why ?

9 out of the 10 North Brabant J2 individuals were J2a, and only one was J2b. One was J2a4b (M67) and three J2a4b1 (M92), which are subclades fairly common in South Italy and Turkey, but not in France or Germany. Only two M92 and three M67 were identified out of over 800 Belgian samples - and all spread out in different provinces. This probably rules out a Neolithic origin of the Dutch J2. Besides, the percentage of E1b1b is only half of J2, which is the opposite pattern of seen in Belgium and West Germany.

The reason for this high incidence of J2a(4b) and J1 might reside in the fact that North Brabant was the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, where lots of fortified settlements were located, presumably defended by soldiers from Italy or other southern parts of the empire. Italy and Greece are the countries with the highest incidence of J1 and J2a in Europe.

4 members from North Brabant were found to belong to R1b-SRY2627, a subclade more typical of southern France and Spain. Only two SRY2627 were identified in Belgium, one in Flanders and one in Wallonia. Again it is unusual to find such a high frequency of a Mediterranean haplogroup in a Dutch province.

R1b-U106/S21 is higher in North Brabant than anywhere in Belgium. This at least is consistent with what we already knew at the national level for Belgium and the Netherlands.

[Haganus]

During the war of the Dutch independency (1568-1648) the Dutch province
of Noord-Brabant was occupied by Spanish militaries and other mercenaries.
After it there was a high frequency of foreign soldiers (Germans, Frenchs)
in Noord-Brabant. How is the situation in other Dutch provinces?

[Maciamo]

I have made some maps to illustrate the two main subclades of R1b around Belgium.





The hotspot of R1b-U152/S28 around Antwerp might be due to the high presence of French-speaking Walloons in this city. Antwerp is the most Francophone of all Flemish cities (well, after Brussels, which has become predominantly French-speaking). Ghent has the second largest French-speaking community, which may explain why East Flanders ranks second with 13.5%.

From the little data available for Wallonia, it seems that R1b-U152/S28 peaks in the centre and east (province of Namur and Liège), while R1b-U106/S21 appears stronger in the west (Hainaut).

[how yes no 2]

There is a surprisingly low percentage of I1 and R1a, and an unexpectedly high percentage of J1 and J2. Actually all the other studies that I combined to create the Y-DNA frequency table also gave a slightly higher percentage of J2 in the Netherlands than in Belgium or West Germany. The question is why ?

9 out of the 10 North Brabant J2 individuals were J2a, and only one was J2b. One was J2a4b (M67) and three J2a4b1 (M92), which are subclades fairly common in South Italy and Turkey, but not in France or Germany. Only two M92 and three M67 were identified out of over 800 Belgian samples - and all spread out in different provinces. This probably rules out a Neolithic origin of the Dutch J2. Besides, the percentage of E1b1b is only half of J2, which is the opposite pattern of seen in Belgium and West Germany.

I don't think that sampling was exclusively for people with dutch origin...

Could it be that elevated levels of J2a in Netherlands and Belgium are in fact representing just recent economical emigrants from Turkey? many of them do have Dutch and Belgian nationality...

[how yes no 2]

language division fairly well correlates with different genetical origin...



Obviously, province of Antwerp
is different from expected and that is why it was separated in 3 parts...
west part where city of Antwerp is shows high influence of both lineages, but surprisingly east and south parts of province show lack of expected R1b lineages... east region has lot of I1, and south region has lot of J2

[secherbernard]

I have made some maps to illustrate the two main subclades of R1b around Belgium.





The hotspot of R1b-U152/S28 around Antwerp might be due to the high presence of French-speaking Walloons in this city. Antwerp is the most Francophone of all Flemish cities (well, after Brussels, which has become predominantly French-speaking). Ghent has the second largest French-speaking community, which may explain why East Flanders ranks second with 13.5%.

From the little data available for Wallonia, it seems that R1b-U152/S28 peaks in the centre and east (province of Namur and Liège), while R1b-U106/S21 appears stronger in the west (Hainaut).

Maciamo, could you please give the map for R1b-P312/S116 (I guess mainly L21) ?

[how yes no 2]

I have made some maps to illustrate the two main subclades of R1b around Belgium.

could it be that U-106 is due to Batavi or Frisians (knowing distribution in Netherlands would help to know which one), while U-152 is due to Franks?

[R.Rocca]

Maciamo, I was wondering if any more Wallonia results have come in and if so, if there is still a strong U152 showing in Namur and Liège.

[Maciamo]

Maciamo, I was wondering if any more Wallonia results have come in and if so, if there is still a strong U152 showing in Namur and Liège.

Only about 10% of the tests for Wallonia have been completed yet, so yes there will be more coming. Unfortunately they seem to have problems finding enough participants. From the current results U152 seems indeed to be strongest in the provinces of Namur, Liège and Luxembourg.

[Maciamo]

could it be that U-106 is due to Batavi or Frisians (knowing distribution in Netherlands would help to know which one), while U-152 is due to Franks?

No, the Franks were almost certainly an admixture of R-U106, R1a, I1, and I2b.

R-U152 is either Gaulish Celt (descended from La Tène migrants who settled in the Meuse-Mosel region in the 5th century BCE) or "Roman" (Italic). Unfortunately there is no way to distinguish Gaulish from Roman at present, which is a shame as I always wanted to know in what proportion the Romans settled in different parts of their empire.

[R.Rocca]

Only about 10% of the tests for Wallonia have been completed yet, so yes there will be more coming. Unfortunately they seem to have problems finding enough participants. From the current results U152 seems indeed to be strongest in the provinces of Namur, Liège and Luxembourg.

Maciamo, any update on the Brabant project data, especially the above provinces? Also, what data will be available for purchase once the project is complete? Thanks.

[Maciamo]

Maciamo, any update on the Brabant project data, especially the above provinces? Also, what data will be available for purchase once the project is complete? Thanks.

No, unfortunately they seem to have problems finding participants for Wallonia, so things aren't progressing as quickly as they should.

[Reinaert]

Well.. About Brabant.

One shouldn't forget that the former Duchy of Brabant is now changed into the Belgian Provinces Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant, Antwerp, Kempen, and Brussels.
And the Dutch Province of Noord Brabant, in common also named Brabant.

The Major cities were Brussels, Louvain, Antwerp in Belgium, and Breda and Den Bosch in The Netherlands.

The city of Den Bosch was established by the Duke of Brabant to protect the nothern flank of the Duchy, while the dukes originally were from Louvain.
(Counts of Louvain)
In the process, a lot of people moved from the South of the Duchy of Brabant to the Northern part.
And during a later period (ending into the 80 year war) the city of Antwerp saw many citizens move to the countryside. This explains the relative high number of some smaller haplogroups.

Province of North Brabant (Netherlands) (n=138)

I1 : 7.8%

I2a : 2.2%

I2b : 4.3%

G2a : 3.6%

E1b1b : 3.6%

T : 1.4%

J1 : 1.4%

J2 : 7%

--------------------------

It is not so difficult to imagine a harbor like Antwerp as a melting pot or a DNA pool, just like it is today.
Antwerp was and still is a cosmopolitan city.

[Jehan]

About the creation of the maps: what does the percentages represent? The current distribution of the DNA-donators or the distribution of the oldest known forefathers?

Jehan

[how yes no 2]

Any ideas as to why Kempen would have such a relatively 'high' [3.6%] share of I2a?

I am curious about type of I2a found..

both Kempen in Belgium and Noord Brabant in the Netherlands have somewhat elevated I2a

I2* is in continental west Europe found on line from Italy to Denmark... and in continental east Europe from Black sea to Baltic along Dnieper...

I2a2 spread seems to follow Danube, Dniester and lower part of Dnieper...

my guess is that I2a in central and west Europe didnot spread only along Danube but also from Bodensee (Constance lake) along Rhine...

elevated J2 might be similar story... though J2 are in general sea people, while I2a are river people, so J2 might have even arrived with ships around coasts of Europe...







I2a = east/west linear pottery?

[willy]

No, the Franks were almost certainly an admixture of R-U106, R1a, I1, and I2b.

R-U152 is either Gaulish Celt (descended from La Tène migrants who settled in the Meuse-Mosel region in the 5th century BCE) or "Roman" (Italic). Unfortunately there is no way to distinguish Gaulish from Roman at present, which is a shame as I always wanted to know in what proportion the Romans settled in different parts of their empire.

Yes so I think the Frankish elite was G2a3b1 according the Capetian bloodline and the 1/3 of G2a3b* found in a Merovingian high rank burial in Ergolding (Bavaria)

[Maciamo]

There a few more results for Wallonia the total number is now 69. I have added 5 more results from people I know who didn't take part to the project, so the total is 74.

Wallonia (n=74)

I1 : 11.2%

I2* : 1.4%

I2a : 0%

I2b : 6.8%

R1b : 59.5%
- R1b-U106/S21 : 21.6%
- R1b-P312/S116 (including L21) : 17.6%
- R1b-U152/S28 : 17.6%

R1a : 4%

G2a : 4%

E1b1b : 9.5% (including 6.8% of E-V13)

T : 2.7%

J1 : 0%

J2 : 1.4%

L: 0%

Q : 0%

Let's note the complete absence of haplogroup I and R1a from the provinces of Liège and Luxembourg at the moment. This is ironic as these are the two provinces that border Germany and that have the most Germanic place names (see Belgian toponymy). The province of Namur has a remarkable 28.5% of hg I (19% of I1 and 9.5% of I2b), 9.5% of R1a and 14% of R1b-U106, which makes it the most Germanic province of Wallonia (61.5% of lineages). This is also ironic since it is the province with the greatest proportion of Latin and Celtic place names.

There is only one Walloon belonging to haplogroup J (J2a) so far, which is also surprising considering the relatively high incidence of E1b1b (n=7) and T (n=2).

Also interesting is the absence of R1b-U152 from the province of Hainaut and Luxembourg. The latter is surely due to the tiny sample size for that province (only 5 participants). R1b-U152 is otherwise found at 17.4% of lineages in Walloon Brabant, 19% in the province of Namur and a staggering 40% in the province of Liège (where the total incidence of R1b reaches 80%).

R1b-P312 ranges from only 4.8% in Namur province to 18.8% in Hainaut, 20% in Luxembourg, 23.5% in Walloon Brabant, and 26.6% in Liège.

Notwithstanding the 40% in the province of Luxembourg that is undersampled, R1b-U106 peaks in Hainaut with 31.2%, followed by Walloon Brabant with 23.5%, 14% in Namur, 13.3% in Liège. This makes sense as the Hainaut is a geographic and historical continuity of Flanders, and Walloon Brabant as its name indicate is just a Francophone expansion of an otherwise Dutch-speaking region.

Wallonia appears therefore to be far more heterogeneous than Flanders. The gradient seems to be mostly from the hilly east to the flat west, with a hotspot of haplogroup I1, I2b and R1a in the Meuse valley in the middle. Only haplogroup E1b1b is found in similar proportions everywhere.

[Maciamo]

I am curious about type of I2a found..

both Kempen in Belgium and Noord Brabant in the Netherlands have somewhat elevated I2a

There is no I2a2 in Belgium. It's mostly the south-west European I2a.