| YDNAR1B1 |
Posted on: 14-Apr-2008, 11:00 PM |
Replies: 44
Views: 9,881
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So where did the "Celts" come from? For a long time, historians believed that the Celtic people of the British Isles were descendants of a tribe of Indo-Europeans who settled in central Europe several thousand years ago. The Romans called them the Gauls, but 18th century scholars adopted the term "Celts" from the ancient Greek name Keltoi. According to the traditional theory, the Celtic tribes began a period of expansion and military conquest about 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, and eventually conquered much of western Europe and the British Isles. What happened to the "native" western Europeans (the pre-Indo-Europeans) has been an enduring mystery. There are the Basques in Spain. There are also stories about mysterious tribes still living in Britain at the time of the Romans. Julius Caesar, who led the Roman invasion of Britain in 55 B.C., wrote that the "interior portion of Britain is inhabited by those of whom they say it is handed down by tradition that they were born on the island itself; the maritime portion by those who passed over from the country of the Belgae [Belgium] for purpose of plunder and making war…and having waged war, continued there and began to cultivate the lands." (De Bello Gallico, Book 5, sec.12.) The Belgae were a Celtic people who were skilled in metal-working and agriculture; the native Britons, according to Caeser, "do not sow corn [wheat], but live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins." (Id., sec.14.)
Some time after the arrival of the Celts, the "native" Britons disappeared off the face of the earth. They left behind pottery, burial mounds, and some amazing archeaological relics like Stonehenge, but little else—or so it seemed. Genetic studies are now re-writing this history. Celtic people such as the Welsh and Irish speak Indo-European languages, but their Y-DNA is similar to that of the Basques. In other words, the Welsh and Irish appear to be more closely related to the non-Indo-European Basques than they are to Indo-European groups elsewhere in northern Europe, such as Germans and Scandinavians. This does not mean that the Basques were direct ancestors of the Celts or visa versa. It simply suggests that the Basques and the Celts have a common origin dating back many thousands of years to pre-historic western Europe, before the arrival of Indo-European tribes. Only the Basques managed to keep their ancestral language alive to the present day. In the British Isles and elsewhere, the people lost their original languages, probably as a result of trade, military conquest, and intermarriage with Indo-Europeans. According to many scholars, there is no evidence of a Celtic military invasion leading to total population replacement in the British Isles. There were probably periods of warfare, but other times when people traveled and traded peacefully. The ancient Britons may simply have adapted and evolved, and in the process, they became the people we know as "Celts."
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Forum: Scotland · Post Preview: #244323 |
| YDNAR1B1 |
Posted on: 03-Apr-2008, 04:05 PM |
Replies: 53
Views: 7,243
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"All groups bring with them their identities and culture but they all modify and adapt their knowings and doings of the past and traditions to meet the new trials and tribulations of their new environment. Things change and they create something new based on the foundation they brought with them. Probably one of the biggest changes was the ability to settle and own land in America, something very very few of the settlers had back in the old country. Things were very different in the new world and new modes of operation were required to survive and succeed.
We are all creations of our past."
Hi, UlsterScotNutt
Point taken. Further, new modes of operation were required to survive and succeed even more so in the old country than in America, what with the civil wars, land grabs, changes in governments, and of kings, etc. That's why many immigrated to other countries to begin with, where they hoped they could cultivate their culture as they saw fit. In many ways they could cultivate their Celtic culture more so in America and other countries than they could in the old country, where laws were being passed to the point that it was almost illegal to be Celtic.
YDNAR1B1
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Forum: Ireland · Post Preview: #241771 |
| YDNAR1B1 |
Posted on: 03-Apr-2008, 01:51 PM |
Replies: 53
Views: 7,243
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UlsterScotNutt, in my last post I should have addressed you as UlsterScotNutt, not UlterScotNutt--my mistake and my apologies.
YDNAR1B1 |
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Forum: Ireland · Post Preview: #241760 |
| YDNAR1B1 |
Posted on: 03-Apr-2008, 01:35 PM |
Replies: 53
Views: 7,243
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Thanks for the welcome, UlterScotNutt and Lady of Avalon. I believe I have found a good place here.
The way I see it, when our Celtic ancestors immigrated to America and other countries, they didn't leave their culture at the shoreline and take on a new American persona. On the contrary, many of them moved to isolated farming and mining communities where their culture lived on for generations, so I believe that it is possible for us of the older generation to be American by birth but Celtic by culture. I know the old saying "birds of a feather flock together" was never more true than it is in my family: My grandparents and great grandparents bore names like McMurry, McDaniel, Ross, Barnett, Byars, McCool. All were either Scottish or from Scottish descent, except my maternal g-grandfather, Barnett, who was Scotch-Irish (his term, not mine)
UlterScotNutt, I believe you are right that it is now illegal to ask ethnic questions on various applications here in the USA, but I must confess that back when I was filling out applications that wasn't the case.
YDNAR1b1
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Forum: Ireland · Post Preview: #241759 |
| YDNAR1B1 |
Posted on: 01-Apr-2008, 07:50 PM |
Replies: 53
Views: 7,243
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Hi all,
I'm new to this forum. This is my first post. And of course here is my two cents' worth. I was born and raised in the USA. As a child I was taught that the blacks (African Americans) in this country were brought here as slaves against their will and that the Indians (Native Americans) were the true Americans and that the rest of us were immigrants. So to as a child I came to the conclusion that the blacks in this country were here by mistake, that they were really Africans that had their own country where everybody was black--I had often heard whites adults say that the blacks needed to go back to Africa where they came from. Likewise as a redheaded, light-complexioned child I felt that I was in this country by mistake, that there was another country out there somewhere named Ireland where everybody had red hair and an Irish temper, like me--other kids and many adults would tease me about my red hair and Irish Temper. I'm actually from Scottish descent.
If you would have asked me as a child if I were an American, I probably would have said "I think so." If you would have asked me if I were Scottish, I would have said "I think so." If you would have asked me if I were Irish, I would have said "Maybe, I have red hair don't I?"
In America I've found that either intentionally or unintentionally we feel compelled to segregate ourselves mentally or sometimes physically into ethnic groups. Even on job applications and censuses we're asked " are you African American, Native American, Asian" and so on. |
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Forum: Ireland · Post Preview: #241492 |
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