TO PUBLISH INCONVENIENT NEWS WE RELY ON DONATIONS Please contact Michael Walsh for easy transfer details keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com

Did you know that over 80% of Irish men can trace their genetic origins to a group of nomadic tribes who lived on the Pontic Steppe (north of the Black Sea in modern Ukraine) over 5000 years ago?

BE A RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN JOURNALIST BY SHARING OUR STORIES

Recent discoveries in ancient DNA show that R1b, the most common haplogroup in Western Europe (reaching over 80% of the male population in Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, western Wales, the Atlantic fringe of France, the Basque Country and Catalonia) arrived into Ireland from the Pontic Steppe, at the beginning of the Bronze-Age (c.2400-2000BCE).

Therefore, all men who carry this R1b genetic imprint, likely descend (father to son, father to son, on down the centuries) from a member of these nomadic tribes, known as the Yamnaya.

Yamnaya is an archaeological term, used to describe the people living on the Pontic steppe during the late Copper Age to early Bronze Age (3300–3000 BC). The Yamnaya culture has been identified as the ‘Urheimat’ (original homeland) of the Proto-Indo-European language, from which most modern European languages, including Irish & English, are descended.

Living primarily as nomads, with a hierarchical chiefdom/clan system, based on oaths and allegiances, the Yamnaya are thought to be the first people to domesticate and ride horses. While they may not have invented the wheel, we do know they used 4-wheeled, ox-drawn axel wheeled wagons, that (along with horse riders) enabled them to drive their herds across the vast Eurasian steppe.

Although they did practice some limited farming, the dry, arid climate of the steppe prevented the agricultural revolution, that swept west across Europe during the Neolithic, from really taking hold. However, due to their unique pastoral lifestyle, the Yamnaya were the first people to develop lactose tolerance into adulthood, with protein-rich animal milk becoming a large part of their diet.

The Yamnaya were also early adopters of metalworking and copper artefacts are often found in large quantities in elite Yamnaya graves. These single graves, known as Kurgans, are the main archaeological legacy of the Yamnaya and differ from the communal burial practices of Neolithic Europe.

Because of these various innovations, the Yamnaya culture was incredibly successful, leading to a massive population boom which in turn put pressure on the limited resources of their steppe homeland. This led to large-scale migrations (both east & west) out of the steppe, which would leave a linguistic, cultural & genetic legacy all the way from India to Ireland.

Around 3000BCE, one wave of these steppe pastoralists from the western Pontic steppe migrated westward along the Danube River. They first settled in the Hungarian plains, but over hundreds of years and many generations, this expansion continued westward across Central Europe towards the Atlantic Seaboard.

This expansion was mainly driven by bands of young men leaving their clan to raid and find new lands and resources. Along the way, different regions of Neolithic Europe experienced different levels of interaction with the incoming steppe peoples. However, the archaeological evidence shows that artefacts of the older Neolithic cultures disappear with their arrival.

We cannot say precisely what route these Yamnaya descendants took to reach Ireland, but what we do know is that within a few hundred years of their arrival, sometime before 2000BCE, they had almost completely replaced the previous Neolithic (male) population.

OUR ONLY SALARY IS WHAT YOU DONATE euroman_uk@yahoo.co.uk or keyboardcosmetics@gmail.com 

These Yamnaya descendants brought with them, the Proto Indo-European/Proto Celtic language that would in time become the Irish language, the beginnings of a culture that would over centuries become recognisably ‘Celtic’, and a genetic imprint (the Rb1 haplogroup), that the majority of Irish males still carry to this day. Source

READERS INVITATION

FORTY SHADES OF VERSE Michael Walsh. A treasure trove of illustrated Irish stories and original verse that draws on the pastures, forests, glens, rivers and lakes of Ireland for inspiration. A master of the poet’s pen, it is said that the map of Ireland is on Michael’s face and his unique poetry is eloquently articulated in a language that has brought him international respect.

 READ FREE saves you from paying the book’s cover price. Michael will send you his bank-to-bank details if you wish to voluntarily transfer or ZELLE a gift tip or make a standing order for as little as £10. Contact Michael at euroman_uk@yahoo.co.uk