Genetic study Origin and mobility of Iron Age Gaulish groups in present-day France revealed through archaeogenomics

MOESAN

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A new survey: Origin and mobility of Iron Age Gaulish groups in present-day France revealed through
archaeogenomics

Summary

The Iron Age period occupies an important place in French history because the Gauls are regularly presented as the direct ancestors of the extant French population. We documented here the genomic diversity of Iron Age communities originating from six French regions. The 49 acquired genomes permitted us to highlight an absence of discontinuity between Bronze Age and Iron Age groups in France, lending support to a cultural transition linked to progressive local economic changes rather than to a massive influx of allochthone groups. Genomic analyses revealed strong genetic homogeneity among the regional groups associated with distinct archaeological cultures. This genomic homogenization appears to be linked to individuals’ mobility between regions and gene flow with neighbouring groups from England and Spain. Thus, the results globally support a common genomic legacy for the Iron Age population of modern-day France that could be linked to recurrent gene flow between culturally differentiated communities.
 
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I just this minute finished reading it. There are so many caveats, starting with low coverage genomes and the lack of balance in terms of numbers between the early and late Iron Age that I have some hesitancy in accepting it.

"The Iron Age period occupies an important place in French history, as the Gauls are regularly presented as the direct ancestors of the extant French population. We documented here the genomic diversity of Iron Age communities originating from six French regions. The 49 acquired genomes permitted us to highlight an absence of discontinuity between Bronze Age and Iron Age groups in France, lending support to a cultural transition linked to progressive local economic changes rather than to a massive influx of allochthone groups. Genomic analyses revealed strong genetic homogeneity among the regional groups associated with distinct archaeological cultures. This genomic homogenisation appears to be linked to individuals’ mobility between regions as well as gene flow with neighbouring groups from England and Spain. Thus, the results globally support a common genomic legacy for the Iron Age population of modern-day France that could be linked to recurrent gene flow between culturally differentiated communities."

https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2589-0042%2822%2900364-9

In my case, thanks to Lazaridis for the heads up.
 
Yes, too small samples and personally I'm not sure of the close cultural assignation of the southern France pop's of the time. "Gaul" in some way, but "Celt"? What seems sure independently of this survey is that internal moves occurred in Gaul during Iron and modified the most western parts of the territory. THis survey seems looking at things from far and high.
 
This study was nearly two years ago, but it seems that it was overlooked. That is a shame as we had very few Iron Gaulish samples before. Combined with the Brunel et al. (2020) study, there are now 33 Gaulish Y-DNA samples:
  • 5x G2a-L497>Z1815 (including 2x Y7538 and 2x Y7538>Z1816, which I had associated with La Tène Celts years ago)
  • 2x I1 (including one Z58>Z138>S2293 in Alsace, which may be of Suebi origin)
  • 3x I2a1b-M223 (including 2x L38, which I had associated with La Tène Celts)
  • 23x R1b-M269
The R1b samples that were tested for deep clades include:
  • 1x R1b-U106>L48>Z9 (in Champagne, then part of Gallia Belgica, which confirms the partial Germanic admixture of ancient Belgae)
  • 1x R1b-P312*
  • 2x R1b-DF27
  • 5x R1b-L21>DF13
Here is the haplogroup data.

Instance IDGroup_IDPublicationY haplogroup in terminal mutation notationY haplogroupmtDNA haplogroup
ATT26French_IA_NorthBrunelPNAS2020....H1e
ATT27French_IA_NorthThis study....K1a
ATT3French_IA_NorthThis studyR-PF6540*(xL11)R1b1a1b1a1H1 ?
ATT52-2French_IA_NorthThis study....K1a3a
BES1096BFrench_IA_SouthThis studyR-P312*(xZ269R1b1a1b1a1aX2
BES1154French_IA_SouthThis study....V9
BES1248French_IA_South_oBrunelPNAS2020I-FGC9452*(xCTS6364I1J1c2
BES1249French_IA_SouthThis studyG-Y14681*(xZ37856)G2a2b2a1a1b1a1a2b1a1H2a2a ?
BFM265French_IA_NorthBrunelPNAS2020....U2e1b
BFT228French_IA_NorthThis studyI-CTS9411/etc*I2a1b1~H2a2a ?
BLH447French_IA_NorthThis study....H5a1 ?
BPV1445French_BA_Paris_BasinThis study....Ia4
BPV1455French_BA_Paris_BasinThis studyR-PF6434*R1b1a1bHV0a
BUCH48-1French_IA_ChampagneThis studyG-CTS3226*G2a2b2a1a1b1aU4b1a3a
BUCH48-2French_IA_ChampagneThis studyR1b1a1bK2
BUCH82French_IA_ChampagneThis study....K1a
CHF106French_IA_ChampagneThis studyR-L151*R1b1a1b1a1aU4a1d
CLR23French_IA_SouthThis studyR-S268*(xZ345,Z334)R1b1a1b1a1a1c2b2R0a1b
CLR24French_IA_SouthThis studyR-PF6540/etc*(xFGC3857R1b1a1b1a1H1e
CLR31French_IA_SouthThis studyR-Z2552*(xL617)R1b1a1b1a1a2a2N1a1a1
CLR35French_IA_SouthThis studyI-CTS9052/etc*(xCTS6426I2a1a1a~H1e
CLR44French_IA_SouthThis studyR-CTS7650*(xM405R1b1a1b1a1H2b
COL153AFrench_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....H2a2a ?
COL153IFrench_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....U6c1
COL239French_LIA_Alsace_oThis studyR-S6189*(xS6185)R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a5b1a1cH1e
COL330French_LIA_AlsaceThis studyG-CTS2100*G2a2b2a1a1b1a1~J1c1b1a
COL336French_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....T1a1
CROI1-4French_EIA_AlsaceThis studyR-PF6435/etc*(xY14069R1b1a1bJ1c1b1a
CROI11French_EIA_AlsaceThis study....T2
CROI12-2French_EIA_AlsaceThis study....H
ERS1164French_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....H2a2a
ERS83-2French_LIA_AlsaceThis studyG-CTS11352*(xZ41262G2a2b2a1a1b1aIa4
ERS86French_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....HV
ERS88French_LIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....U5a1c
GDF1231French_IA_Paris_BasinThis study....HV0
GDF1264French_IA_Paris_BasinThis studyR-P312*(xDF27R1b1a1b1a1a2H2b
GDF1341French_IA_Paris_BasinThis study....K1a1b1
GDF1348French_IA_Paris_BasinThis studyR-A1334R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a3a2a1b1a1bH
GDF1349-AFrench_IA_Paris_BasinThis study....T1a4
GLN126French_IA_Paris_BasinThis studyR-L52/etc*(xFGC14875R1b1a1b1a1H1e
GLN141French_IA_Paris_BasinThis studyR-L1358R1b1a1b1a1a2b6K1a
GLN29-AFrench_IA_Paris_BasinThis study....U8a1
GLN32French_IA_Paris_BasinThis studyI-S19763/etc*(xBY14655I2a1b2a2a1H3
GOX287French_EIA_AlsaceThis Study and BrunelPNAS2020I-S2293*(xA12063I1a2b3T1a
ISL6950French_IA_ChampagneThis studyR1b1a1b1a1a2a~J1c1
JEB8French_EIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....J1c8a
NOR2B-6French_EIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....K1a2a
NOR3-15French_EIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....U6c
NOR3-6French_EIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....H7d
NOR4-4French_EIA_AlsaceBrunelPNAS2020....U5a1a1
PAL170French_IA_NorthThis study....T2b7a
PECH3French_IA_SouthThis studyR-FGC5544*R1b1a1b1a1a2c1a~HV0a
PECH5French_IA_SouthBrunelPNAS2020R-CTS7650*(xFGC17470R1b1a1b1a1H1e1b1a
PECH8French_IA_SouthBrunelPNAS2020R-L52/etc*(xFGC12663.2R1b1a1b1a1J1c2m
PECH9French_IA_SouthThis study....J1c
PEY163French_IA_SouthBrunelPNAS2020R-PF6448/etc*(xAM01881R1b1a1bW1g
PEY53French_IA_SouthBrunelPNAS2020....J1c11a
PEY73French_IA_SouthThis Study....U5b3
PT2French_IA_SouthBrunelPNAS2020....J1c1b1
PT7French_IA_SouthThis study....J1c1
SCPG2French_LIA_AlsaceThis study....T
UN129French_IA_NormandyThis studyR-CTS10834/etc*(xM405R1b1a1bK1a1b1c
UN19French_IA_NormandyThis studyR-S3057*(xS309)R1b1a1b1a1a2b1a5a2a1aW1c
UN85French_IA_NormandyThis studyR-DF27*(xZ262R1b1a1b1a1a2H2a2a ?
VAS75French_IA_NorthThis study....H6a
VAS79-2French_IA_NorthThis studyR-CTS8627/etc*(xFGC3861R1b1a1bT2b
WET429French_LIA_AlsaceThis studyG-Z3035/etc*(xZ41267G2a2b2a1a1b1K1a4a1
 
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Note that there was not a single R1b-U152 among the Gaulish samples above (Brunel + Fischer). There were also 12 Gaulish samples (La Tene period) from Patterson et al. (2021), which included:
  • 1x G2a-L497>Z1816
  • 1x R1b-L52*
  • 1x R1b-L151*
  • 2x R1b-P312*
  • 3x R1b-DF27
  • 5x R1b-U152 (one Z36 and four L2)
So out of 45 Iron Age Gaulish Y-DNA samples, only 5 are R1b-U152 (11% of the total). Among the 5 samples, three are from the Champagne region in Gallia Belgica (not Gallia Celtica), and the two others are from 2nd century BCE Roquepertuse near Aix-en-Provence in Gallia Narbonensis, a region which was already under Roman influence at the time. This suggests that most of the R1b-U152 (aka S28) in France and Belgium today could actually be of Italic and Etruscan origin (as well as possibly Belgic). This could help answer the question I asked back in 2010: is R1b-U152 more Gaulish or Roman? We now have enough Iron Age Italian samples to know that U152 was definitely a major, and even the main lineage of ancient Latins and Etruscans (and probably all Italic tribes). This would mean that there was a significant replacement of male lineages in Gaul by Roman ones, as U152 is found in 15 to 35% of the French and French-speaking Belgian population today - with the notable exceptions of Brittany, which remained the last Celtic speaking region of Gaul, and Gascony, which was Basque-speaking until a few centuries ago. In other words, all parts of Gaul where Latin became dominant also happen to be the regions where Roman/Latin/Italic R1b-U152 is found at a relatively high frequency.

The higher percentage of U152 is southwestern Germany corresponds almost exactly to the ancient limes (border of the Roman Empire) where many legions were stationed and many cities founded by the Romans.

1710077988765.png
 
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Interesting. It seems the most dense places for Y-G2a among Celts were in East-Northeast? (it's true the sample is very weak!) As an hazard, Alsace/Elsass is the place in northern half of France which had the less steppic DNA at those times: place of assimilation of Neolithic people by Celts? Maybe it was the case too in Bohemia?
That aside, I don't see where were the R1b-L21?
 
I have reorganised the data in a clearer manner.

Sample IDLocationDate (BCE)CultureY-haplogroupsmt-haplogroups
CLR23South400-300La TèneR1b-U106>L48>Z9/S268R0a1b
BES1096BSouth475-450La TèneR1b-P312X2
GDF1264Paris_Basin500-300La TèneR1b-P312H2b
BPV1455Paris_Basin-Bronze AgeR1b-M269 HV0a
BUCH48-2Champagne475-250La Tène ancienR1b-M269 K2
CROI1-4Alsace800-625Hallstatt CR1b-M269J1c1b1a
PEY163South400-150La TèneR1b-M269W1g
UN129Normandy120-80La TèneR1b-M269K1a1b1c
VAS79-2North400-300R1b-M269T2b
GLN126Paris_Basin300-100La TèneR1b-L52H1e
PECH8South225-150La TèneR1b-L52J1c2m
GLN141Paris_Basin300-100La TèneR1b-L21>L1358K1a
GDF1348Paris_Basin500-300La TèneR1b-L21>FGC11134>CTS4466>A1334H
COL239Alsace740-390La Tène BR1b-L21>DF21>S6189H1e
UN19Normandy120-80La TèneR1b-L21>DF21>S424>S190W1c
PECH3South225-200La TèneR1b-L21>DF13>FGC5544HV0a
CHF106Champagne475-400La Tène AR1b-L11U4a1d
CLR24South400-300La TèneR1b-L11H1e
CLR44South400-300La TèneR1b-L11H2b
PECH5South225-150La TèneR1b-L11H1e1b1a
CLR31South400-300La TèneR1b-DF27>Z2552N1a1a1
ATT3North350-200La Tène B1-B2R1b-DF27>PF6540H1 ?
ISL6950Champagne330/225LTM/FR1b-DF27 (?)J1c1
UN85Normandy120-80La TèneR1b-DF27H2a2a ?
GLN32Paris_Basin300-100La TèneI2a1b2-L38>S19763H3
BFT228North400-350La Tène BI2a1b1-M223>CTS9411H2a2a ?
CLR35South400-300La TèneI2a1a1a-M26/L158H1e
GOX287Alsace550-450Hallstatt D2 / D3I1a2b3-Z58>Z138>S2293T1a
BES1248South150-50La TèneI1*J1c2
BES1249South150-50La TèneG2a2b-L497>Z1816>Y14681H2a2a ?
COL330Alsace810-540La Tène BG2a2b-L497>Z1816 J1c1b1a
ERS83-2Alsace400-100La TèneG2a2b-L497>Z1815>Y7538Ia4
BUCH48-1Champagne475-250La Tène ancienG2a2b-L497>Z1815>CTS3226U4b1a3a
WET429Alsace-Hallstatt?G2a2b-L497>Z1815K1a4a1
ATT26North350-200La Tène B1-B2..H1e
ATT27North350-200La Tène B1-B2..K1a
ATT52-2North350-200La Tène B1-B2..K1a3a
BES1154South510-475La Tène..V9
BFM265North250-190La Tène C1..U2e1b
BLH447North400-350La Tène B..H5a1 ?
BPV1445Paris_Basin-Bronze Age..Ia4
BUCH82Champagne475-250Hallstatt C/La Tène C1..K1a
COL153AAlsace780-410La Tène B1..H2a2a ?
COL153IAlsace780-410La Tène B1..U6c1
COL336Alsace760-400La Tène B..T1a1
CROI11Alsace800-550Hallstatt C/D1..T2
ERS1164Alsace400-100La Tène..H2a2a
ERS86Alsace400-100La Tène..HV
ERS88Alsace400-100La Tène..U5a1c
GDF1231Paris_Basin500-300La Tène..HV0
GDF1341Paris_Basin500-300La Tène..K1a1b1
GDF1349-AParis_Basin500-300La Tène..T1a4
GLN29-AParis_Basin300-100La Tène..U8a1
JEB8Alsace-Hallstatt..J1c8a
NOR2B-6Alsace650-500Hallstatt..K1a2a
NOR3-15Alsace650- 550Hallstatt C - D1..U6c
NOR3-6Alsace650- 550Hallstatt C - D1..H7d
NOR4-4Alsace550Hallstatt D1/D2..U5a1a1
PAL170North600-500Hallstatt D..T2b7a
PECH9South600-300La Tène..J1c
PEY53South200-150La Tène..J1c11a
PEY73South200-150La Tène..U5b3
PT2South425-400La Tène..J1c1b1
PT7South425-400La Tène..J1c1
SCPG2Alsace-Halstatt- La tène..T
VAS75North400-300..H6a
 
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I don't know how to put a upturned thumb, but thanks, Maciamo.
 
Note that there was not a single R1b-U152 among the Gaulish samples above (Brunel + Fischer). There were also 12 Gaulish samples (La Tene period) from Patterson et al. (2021), which included:
  • 1x G2a-L497>Z1816
  • 1x R1b-L52*
  • 1x R1b-L151*
  • 2x R1b-P312*
  • 3x R1b-DF27
  • 5x R1b-U152 (one Z36 and four L2)
So out of 45 Iron Age Gaulish Y-DNA samples, only 5 are R1b-U152 (11% of the total). Among the 5 samples, three are from the Champagne region in Gallia Belgica (not Gallia Celtica), and the two others are from 2nd century BCE Roquepertuse near Aix-en-Provence in Gallia Narbonensis, a region which was already under Roman influence at the time.

Where did the single R-Z36 come from? Champagne or Provence?
 
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I'd predict that Gauls from Switzerland, Austria, Southern Germany, Czechia, etc... will have higher rates of U152 than the ones from France. I'm unsure what the current data shows. Also there's another upcoming study on (French?) Gauls which will yield hundreds of samples, so it will be interesting to see.
 
Do you think Z36 is more Belgic than Italo-Etruscan (only turns up once in Etruscan samples)?
Actually two Etruscan samples. Campiglia 1 and Tarquinia 10338

Z36 tmrca was very early around 2500 BC so this is well before we can talk of any "Belgic" or even "Celtic" or "Italic" categories. Like many branches of U152 it was likely present in both. Bronze Age trade networks and migration practices caused these lineages to spread out through a wide area.
 
Personally I believe that U152 was more prevalent among Belgae than among Celts of Gaul, at first (al least).
Yes, U152 (the first subclades) were present among BB's. But we know that some Belgae tribes moves away, to easternBritain, to Iberia (even Southwest) and Gaul. It seems L21 was less rare in Gaul and in East in general, at first. Gaulish/Belgae tribes were very mobile before definitive sedentarization and sent sets here and there.
 
Note that there was not a single R1b-U152 among the Gaulish samples above (Brunel + Fischer). There were also 12 Gaulish samples (La Tene period) from Patterson et al. (2021), which included:
  • 1x G2a-L497>Z1816
  • 1x R1b-L52*
  • 1x R1b-L151*
  • 2x R1b-P312*
  • 3x R1b-DF27
  • 5x R1b-U152 (one Z36 and four L2)
So out of 45 Iron Age Gaulish Y-DNA samples, only 5 are R1b-U152 (11% of the total). Among the 5 samples, three are from the Champagne region in Gallia Belgica (not Gallia Celtica), and the two others are from 2nd century BCE Roquepertuse near Aix-en-Provence in Gallia Narbonensis, a region which was already under Roman influence at the time. This suggests that most of the R1b-U152 (aka S28) in France and Belgium today could actually be of Italic and Etruscan origin (as well as possibly Belgic). This could help answer the question I asked back in 2010: is R1b-U152 more Gaulish or Roman? We now have enough Iron Age Italian samples to know that U152 was definitely a major, and even the main lineage of ancient Latins and Etruscans (and probably all Italic tribes). This would mean that there was a significant replacement of male lineages in Gaul by Roman ones, as U152 is found in 15 to 35% of the French and French-speaking Belgian population today - with the notable exceptions of Brittany, which remained the last Celtic speaking region of Gaul, and Gascony, which was Basque-speaking until a few centuries ago. In other words, all parts of Gaul where Latin became dominant also happen to be the regions where Roman/Latin/Italic R1b-U152 is found at a relatively high frequency.

The higher percentage of U152 is southwestern Germany corresponds almost exactly to the ancient limes (border of the Roman Empire) where many legions were stationed and many cities founded by the Romans.

View attachment 15572
I forgot an angle:
A part of Belgae is supposed to have been speaking kind of a pan-Italic or "Italo-Celtic" dialects (same supposition for the not-Etruscanlike inscriptions in Rhaetia): say some less far-evolved than true Celtic? What has been maybe too quicky labelled 'Celtic' in Central Europe could be part of this bunch of uncertain western IE dialects (inherited from BB?). Some links between Italic and Germanic, more deep than the Celtic-Germanic links, could reflect an old eastern-central 'sprachbund' which Celts severed earlier from towards West - look at some new theories about Celtic not western nor eastern? It could explain too the affinities between Italic and Venetic and the two places where the Veneti name has been known. I don't exclude a pre-proto-Germanic borne in this eastern-Central area (Bohemia-Saale as a highspot), the diverse expansions seeming launched for the most during Urnfields period. Germanic knew phonetical innovation by its contacts with northern Europe, Italic (S-E) and Venetic (E) having more contact with Hungary/Pannonia and southeastern innovations (I think in the evolution of the IE *Bh-, *Dh- and *Gh-). The uncertainty for Belgae languages lies in their geographic position (Celtic-Germanic-Northwest corner IE "panitaliclike", rather archaic).
So R1b-U152, eastern at first (it seems confirmed by ancient DNA) could have been common to Belgae and first Italics (before the eastern contacts of Italics). In Gauls, even Brittany has some R1b-U152 and some R1b-U106*, and we know that culturally W-Aremorica had strong ties Belgia of the time (IE)...
* it's true the U-106 distribution is rather North in today Brittany, so in absence of downstream caldes we can think it's for some part from Germanics (maritime: Saxons, Frisons, even more Vikings)
 
R-L2 is connected with the Tumulus culture, later Urnfield into Hallstatt into La Tene Celtic in Central Europe. That is absolutely evident from the ancient DNA evidence we got, from Hungary in particular, from where most of the samples were coming from so far.

The Tumulus culture seems to have had exchange with the Rhaeto-Etruscans, resulting in G2 in Celts and R-L51 branches in Rhaeto-Etruscans.

R-L2 might have been, however, that's debatable at this point, more common in the Central and Eastern Hallstatt groups, rather than the Western fringe (= France).

If looking at such numbers for the La Tene period:

  • 1x G2a-L497>Z1816
  • 1x R1b-L52*
  • 1x R1b-L151*
  • 2x R1b-P312*
  • 3x R1b-DF27
  • 5x R1b-U152 (one Z36 and four L2)

Keep in mind that e.g. R-P312 could add more R-U152/R-L2. This might be just an issue of coverage and resolution during assignment. R-L2 seems to have been THE Celtic branch together with G2, which points to the ultimate origin of Celts being rather Eastern and cloe to the Rhaeto-Etruscans imho.

Also keep in mind that the common Italo-Celtic stage might have been the Tumulus culture, which was dominated by R-L2.
 

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