Post by UKarchaeology on Jan 29, 2016 18:26:41 GMT
In a new study titled “Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon Genomes from East England Reveal British Migration History” and published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers were able to fully map the level of Anglo-Saxon ancestry that modern British people possess, using DNA analysis from ancient skeletons.
According to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, skeletons of people buried in ancient graves near Cambridge were used to conduct whole-genome sequences of ancient British DNA, through which the researchers were able to establish that about one-third of British ancestors were Anglo-Saxon immigrants.
Part of the issues that confronted the researchers while working on the study was the need to know the scale of Anglo-Saxon migrations to ancient Britain, how they mixed or integrated with the local natives, and what part they played in British ancestry. Since historians and archaeologists had long debated this point, genomics from ancient skeletons was able to offer some insights into the distant past.
Full story: www.i4u.com/2016/01/103628/using-ancient-skeletons-researchers-estimate-anglo-saxon-ancestry-british-population