Basque Origins | DNA, Language, and History

From the Spanish and French valleys of the Western Pyrenees to the Atlantic coast of the Bay of Biscay, the historically isolated Basque people have lived for millennia.

In this diverse and fertile region, the Basque have retained their unique non-Indo-European language and dialects, Euskara, as well as their own cultural and regional identities. As the surrounding populations of Europe have shifted over the ages again and again, the Basque people remain.

Known today by its inhabitants as Euskadi, País Vasco, or Euskal Herria, the Basque Country has become a region famous for its cuisine and wine of ancient grapes such as Tempranillo, of traditional fishing villages and picturesque cities. Tourism has replaced much of history’s strife. But defining Euskal Herria is as difficult as defining the word Herria itself. In Euskara its root herri can mean everything from village to population to nation. Euskal Herria is the collective identity of this ancient people.

Basque Country has historically comprised of settlements located along the western edge of the Pyrenees, currently organized in seven provinces: Gipuzkoa; Bizkaia; Araba; and Nafarroa on the southern side of the Pyrenees and Zuberoa; Lapurdi; and Nafarroa Beherea on the northern side. Euskara has five main dialects, a non-Indo-European language isolate with no close relationship to any other extant language. Overall, Euskara is spoken by nearly thirty percent, or three-quarters of a million Basques. The vast majority are in the Spanish region. Only seven percent are in the French portion. The French dialects are Navarrese– Lapurdian and Souletin, and the Spanish dialects are Upper Navarrese, Biscayan, and Gipuzkoan. These dialects are sometimes mutually incomprehensible, especially in the case of Souletin. Studies suggest that these dialects branched from a unified Basque language sometime during the Middle Ages and developed according to geographical, cultural, political, and administrative reasons. Although structurally unlike any Indo European language, the official Euskara Batua today contains many loan words from Romance languages --up to 40% of its vocabulary, and a modified Latin script.

The mystery of Euskara’s long linguistic isolation has led to many theories of its origins and possible related languages. Most of these hypotheses are very tenuous, such as Basque-Iberic comparisons based on fragments of extinct variations of Vasconic, Auquitanian, and Iberian tongues, or they are based on coincidence and pseudoscientific speculation, ranging from the popular assertion that the Basques are descended from Old Testament patriarchs to the folk beliefs that Basques are related to the distant Kartvelian populations of Caucasus Georgia to a slightly more plausible relation to the ancient Chechen language, neighbors of the Georgians whose language structure appears closer to Euskara. These models of Dené-Caucasian language families might mean that the Basque and their ancestors originated from the Caucasus. But only the latest genetic studies of modern Basque samples have reached clear conclusions.

Video Attribution:

Miguel Angel Zález
Dolmen de Arrizala o Sorginetxe (Agurain-Salvatierra). Álava..mp4

Senda Mágica
Dolmen Sorginetxe. Alineación astronómica.

AUDREY JACOB
Stèles basques musée basque bayonne

Ollie Bye
The History of Iberia Every Year.

Links:
Estimating the Impact of Prehistoric Admixture on the Genome of Europeans
Genetic origins, singularity, and heterogeneity of Basques
The Expanded mtDNA Phylogeny of the Franco-Cantabrian Region Upholds the Pre-Neolithic Genetic Substrate of Basques
Rome in the Construction of Basque Identity: Archaeological Arguments
Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques

A bunch of wikipedia pages with artwork and background:

[studyofantiquityandthemidd]

To my dear subscribers, thank you all. You have my love and appreciation.

My latest history merch! Sea Peoples meet Late Bronze Age humor! I thought this was pretty amusing.






Get your Sea Peoples | Late Bronze Age Merch below!





Get your Hittite Merch below!





Trojan War Merch Below!



To support the channel, become a Patron and make history matter!



Enjoy history merchandise? Check out affiliate link to SPQR Emporium!

*Disclaimer, the link above is an affiliate link which means we will earn a generous commission from your magnificent purchase, just another way to help out the channel!

Join our community!

Facebook Page:

[fastnbulbouss]

In an old Basque grammar book that I own there is a legend that says that the devil lived for 200 years in the Basque country, and had to leave because after all that time spent there, he still didn't know how to say yes or no in Basque.

[xfirehurican]

My uncle, Aniceto Sagastizabal, born in Elorrio in 1940 and using the name 'Gasti', had a successful career as a professional player of the Basque sport Cesta Punta (known as Jai Alai in the U.S.) from the mid-1950s thru the early 1980s in Spain, Italy, Mexico and the United States. He was a 'giant' of a man, yet as gentile and kind as a person could be. I still have one of his cestas and a pelota that he played with at a fronton in Orlando, FL.

[MrLuigiFercotti]

Was in the region back in 2000, just a lovely place. No wonder they defended it so fiercely. Was told by a Basque gentleman that they do not sell their land to non-Basque, and heaven help anyone that tries to. I wish them luck in preserving their language, culture and land.

[alfredomontez]

God bless and protect the Basque people. Good to see people endure with their unique language and culture through the ages.

[Andoni]

Greetings from the Basque Country, good job.

[kayakat]

Basque culture is extremely interesting. You should do a video about the Saami of Northern Europe next. We are another indigenous European culture that unfortunately has had to deal with a lot of cultural genocide. We have been instrumental in fighting the Nazis in the far north, and standing up for ecological protections in the arctic. I think it is important to raise awareness of us and other indigenous groups, so that our cultures are more remembered and respected.

[troygaspard]

To loose your language is to loose your culture. Basque country is striking, that they have held on to it through their language is remarkable.

[petefrys]

Well done the Basques keep your language and culture and your people will survive.

[ruslan]

Greetings from Caucasus, Chechnya& Georgia/ Saqartvelo!!!

[ninavongunten]

My 2nd great-grandmother was Basque origin and
she married my 2nd great-grandfather Wm. Westaway, Sr.
who was from Torquay, Devonshire, England.
Their son, who was my great-grandfather, William H. Westaway immigrated to the U.S. and married Sophia Hutson.
Many of the females in my family, including my mother, inherited the rare RH negative blood type that can be mostly found in Basque region. My recent DNA test did reflect my Basque, Portuguese & Spanish heritage as well as some other countries throughout Europe. I would love to find my present day U.K. relatives.

[lumbro]

as a basque and euskara speaking dude it makes me so happy to see this kind of content on yt

[FretnesButke]

Some historians and anthropologists theorize that if a people can adapt to mountain living they stand a chance of keeping thier culture and language alive while the rest of the land around them is swamped by others. All the languages of Europe are related to Sanscrit - the Indo-European languages, except four: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian..and Basque.
The previous three are Turko-mongol, or Ural Altaic languages. Basque had linguists scratching their heads for generations. The presently leading theory is that it's an ancient, Neolithic, pre-indo-european language. It's fascinating to contemplate.
.

[itallia]

My great great grandmother was a Spanish Basque, all the females descended from her have the
ABneg blood group, including myself & both my daughters, however my grandsons do not have the AB neg group.
Ive always known of my Basque heritage & im extremely proud of it, i was born & raised in the far north of England in Northumberland & my Basque gg grandma was brought to my county in 1850 when as a nanny to a doctor from my city had a practise in Bayonne & Isabella came to work for him & his children but all we know is she was from the mountains.
She became part of their family & so went with them back to UK & my county.
Isabella was firey & very independant & just 4ft 11ins with hair to her calves
She met & married my gggrandfather who owned hotels & restaurants in Newcastle upon Tyne city & she bore him 9 children.
Im over the moon with this video & have learned much about the land of my ancestors.
Thank you thank you

[juanc.]

From the Basque Country, thank you very much for this very interesting work to which you have dedicated so much time. As a Basque about the mystery of our ability to resist so long I think there are three fundamental factors, our language, our character and our culture transmitted from parents to children in which love and respect for our family environment, culture and people, makes us defend it to death.
Your video has made me think that the Basque language deserves to be recognized as part of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It still hides many secrets that I hope will be revealed with more serious studies every day. Unfortunately, where we are least valued and protected is in Spain, a country that if it considers us Spanish should be proud of the cultural heritage we represent. Unfortunately, they do everything possible to hide or denigrate our particularity.
Thanks much again and Gora Euskadi.

[carterobrien]

Yolande Betbeze, Miss America of 1951, was of Basque Origin. She was beautiful and talented in Opera Singing. She married a man named FOX and had one child. Lived in New York but attended Visitation Academy in Mobile, Alabama in 1946 as a teenager. She was in my Senior Class.

[funniebunnieu]

My father's side of the family is Spanish Basque (I'm 1/4 Basque), and I am so excited to find this! What a rich culture we got to share in, even here in the States. There's a whole Basque community in Winnemucca Nevada, where my family first settled, when my Great Grandma immigrated, at 17 years old, all on her own. Can't wait to jump in to the video! Thanks again! Love, to all, from Texas! ✌🤠💕

[josephthibeault]

Old proverb: if you keep your language, you have the key that will set you free.

[SamyT]

The basques have always fascinated me for being a very unique culture, thanks to this very insightful documentary, I know a bit more about them.

[dennisfideli.estrella]

The best documentary yet ever on this most interesting topic of the Origins of the Basque People... I will watch this video over and over again... from Manila, Philippines...