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Celtic DNA: What’s the Genetics of Celtic Peoples & How Common is Red Hair?

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:59 Celts and Red Hair
3:47 Vikings and Red Hair
4:39 Celtic Genetics and Y-DNA Haplogroups
6:41 Vote for Video Topics and Merch
7:04 Celtic DNA Today and Maternal Haplogroups

What was the genetics of the ancient Celts and how has this influenced modern Celtic peoples? Also, how common has red hair been amongst the Celts down through history and how strong is the link today between Celtic peoples and red hair? Now during the Iron Age, Celts were found across Europe, stretching from Britain, Ireland and the Iberian peninsula all the way to Galatia in modern Turkey. Gaul was the home of Celtic civilization however, an area in Western Europe centred on modern France, but it included parts of other modern countries, such Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy.

Today, the influence of Celtic speaking peoples is limited only to Britian, Ireland and France, with this map showing the 6 Celtic languages spoken today: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx (on the Isle of Man), Welsh, Cornish and Breton (spoken in Brittany, France). But what do we know about the genetics of both ancient and modern Celts as well as physical traits like red hair?

Well let’s start by looking at some descriptions of ancient Celts and whether red hair was a common feature amongst them historically? One interesting description comes from the Roman historian Tacitus, who lived between 56-120 AD. He wrote in the late 1st century AD about the physical characteristics of the ancient Britons, in particular writing about two ancient Celtic people: the Caledonians to the north, a fierce tribal confederation of ancient Scotland, and the Silures to the west, a powerful tribe of ancient Wales. Tacitus wrote that:

Sources:

L.M. Cassidy, R. Martiniano, E.M. Murphy, M.D. Teasdale, J. Mallory, B. Hartwell, D.G. Bradley, Neolithic and Bronze Age migration to Ireland and establishment of the insular Atlantic genome, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 113 (2) 368-373, doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518445113 (2016).

The genetic causes, ethnic origins and history of red hair - Eupedia

Who were the Celts? Understanding the history and culture of Celtic tribes
Britons: Tacitus (late first century CE) | Ethnic Relations and Migration in the Ancient World: The Websites of Philip A. Harland

The people with the reddest hair in the world - BBC News

Family ties: deciphering the DNA of the Amesbury Archer and the Companion – The Past

Haplogroup R-L21 - Wikipedia

Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA) - Eupedia

Celt | History, Institutions, & Religion | Britannica

Haplogroup H (mtDNA) - Eupedia

Gretzinger, J., Schmitt, F., Mötsch, A. et al. Evidence for dynastic succession among early Celtic elites in Central Europe. Nat Hum Behav 8, 1467–1480 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01888-7

Celtic History Decoded - Irish DNA: What is the Genetic History of Ireland?

Creative Commons Imagery:

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