british scientists hunt for viking traces in norman dna
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

British scientists hunt for Viking traces in Norman DNA

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today British scientists hunt for Viking traces in Norman DNA

British researchers began collecting the DNA
Valognes - AFP

British researchers on Monday began collecting the DNA of residents from Normandy in northern France in search of Viking heritage, but the project has raised concerns amongst some local anti-racism activists.

Around a hundred volunteers from the Cotentin Peninsula area are giving DNA samples to academics at the University of Leicester, who are trying to find descendants of the Vikings who invaded what is now Normandy in the 9th century.

The aim is to learn more about "the intensity of the Scandinavian colonisation" in the 9th and 10th centuries in the Cotentin Peninsula, said Richard Jones, a senior history lecturer at the University of Leicester.

That includes trying to find out whether the colonisers kept to themselves or married amongst the locals, he added.

The French volunteers have been chosen because they have surnames that are of Scandinavian origin or that have been present in France since at least the 11th century. They also qualify if all four of their grandparents lived within a 50-kilometre (30-mile) radius of their current home.

French data protection authorities gave their green light to the study, which will be published in 2016, but the DNA testing has raised eyebrows in some quarters.

"We're worried this will build on the idea that there are real Normans and fake Normans," said Jacques Declosmenil, head of the local wing of the Movement Against Racism (MRAP) group.

"In the current context of xenophobia, it's very dangerous. Racists could use this to say: 'I've got proof that I haven't got any Arab blood,' for instance."

But Jones dismissed such concerns, saying the scientists were only studying two percent of a person's DNA in order to potentially establish Scandinavian ancestry dating back more than 10 centuries. "Anything is possible" for the other 98 percent, he added.

The team are searching for Viking roots amongst residents in three areas of Britain as well as in Normandy.

But at the nearby Caen University, medieval history professor Pierre Bauduin said he had warned the Leicester academics that racial origins are "an extremely sensitive topic in France".

"It's important that the results of this are not misrepresented by anyone," he said.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

british scientists hunt for viking traces in norman dna british scientists hunt for viking traces in norman dna

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

british scientists hunt for viking traces in norman dna british scientists hunt for viking traces in norman dna

 



GMT 18:41 2017 Sunday ,17 September

Moriya takes slender Evian lead

GMT 21:06 2017 Monday ,21 August

3 arrested for possessing drugs in North Sinai

GMT 13:52 2017 Thursday ,16 November

Zimbabwe’s army deprives first lady from presidency

GMT 08:47 2017 Saturday ,23 December

Kerry meets with Lavrov on Ukraine, urges troop pullback

GMT 14:54 2017 Sunday ,17 December

OPEC daily basket price announced for Wednesday

GMT 06:57 2016 Sunday ,17 April

Air France to resume flights to Iran tomorrow

GMT 03:06 2017 Wednesday ,13 December

US Says Time To Act On North Korea

GMT 01:57 2017 Tuesday ,12 December

8000 terrorists killed in Syria during past 3 months

GMT 18:08 2017 Thursday ,23 February

Turkey says 56 IS terrorists killed in northern Syria

GMT 19:14 2016 Thursday ,20 October

Long-necked dino species discovered in Australia
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday