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And Now in the Cherokee...
Haplogroup N1a became prominent in genetics literature when Wolfgang Haak et al.'s studies on 7500 year old skeletons in Central Europe revealed that 25% of the Neolithic European population might have belonged to this lineage. The skeletons were found to be members of the Linear Pottery Culture (LBK ware) which is credited with being the first farming culture in Central Europe.
7,000 Year-Old Linearbandkeramik (LBK ware) from Stone Age Germany.
The study was a major development in the debate on the origin of European populations, since Haak et al. argued that "The discovery of mitochondrial type N1a in Central European Neolithic skeletons at a high frequency enabled us to answer the question of whether the modern population is maternally descended from the early farmers instead of addressing the traditional question of the origin of early European farmers."
Neolithic RevolutionTwo competing scenarios exist for the spread of the Neolithic from the Near East to Europe:
- Demic diffusion (in which farming is brought by farmers), for example Renfrew's NDT - Anatolian hypothesis
- Cultural diffusion (in which farming is spread by the passage of ideas), which is the assumption in Alinei's Paleolithic Continuity Theory.
The study's authors concluded: "Our finding lends weight to a proposed Paleolithic ancestry for modern Europeans."
N currently appears in only .18%-.2% of regional populations. It is widely distributed throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa and is divided into the European, Central Asian, and African/South Asian branches based on specific genetic markers. Exact origins and migration patterns of this haplogroup are still unknown and a subject of some debate.
Although not one of the classic Native American lineages (A, B, C, D, and X -- Schurr), N has been identified in the ancient Southwest in the Fremont Culture centered in Utah. It is one of the Middle Eastern lineages that appear in the Cherokee and other Indians; see DNA Consultants Blog, “Anomalous Mitochondrial DNA Lineages in the Cherokee”. Most investigators attribute this phenomenon to recent European admixture. But such haplotypes if only instanced in North America without exact Old World matches could just as well be considered Native American.
It has been suggested that N is also characteristic of the Sea Peoples, who may have traveled to the American Southwest in antiquity.
Cherokee or Saponi Wedding Dish from Southwest Virginia in author's possession is glazed black, the color of the Earth Mother, and marked with the "tri-line" signifying the Triple Goddess's power of increase and plenty and rule over all life. The style of pottery is similar to Linearbandkeramik (LBK) ware. This is the female dish of a matched pair. The slightly larger male dish is marked with four lines on each handle. They were used to share food in a wedding or bonding ceremony.
Comments
It's my experience that people practicing their ideas travel much farther than ideas alone. Especially since we are talking about pre-writing cultures. It would make sense that the incoming farmers would not only pass on their farming techniques but also their genetic traits.