Viking Origins | The Genetic History of Northern Europe

In this episode we are joined by Geneticist Razib Khan who takes us through the Genetic DNA history of Northern Europe.

We begin in prehistoric Scandinavia as we see the arrivals of the first peoples from various places and we see various migrations some of which are coming from Southern Europe that eventually replace the original Hunter Gatherers. We talk about historiography and archaeology and how their views have changed on the subject of Northern Europeans and their origins.

We eventually leave the prehistoric culture after discussing the Battle Axe culture and the controversy surrounding them and we approach the Nordic Bronze and Iron Age period in Northern Europe and we discuss various migrations and cultures that migrate in, supplant and absorb these preexisting peoples and cultures.

What role did Anatolian migrations have in early Northern Europe? Who were the original hunter gatherers? What impact did the arrival of Indo Europeans have on the original inhabitants?

Eventually we approach the Medieval world and we talk about the medieval populations of Northern Europe and then the Vikings and whether or not these travels and ventures surrounding piracy have an impact on DNA in Northern Europe and in the places they settled such as Ireland, Scotland, England and etc.

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[galenbjorn]

4:40 Having pictures of African-looking people as Scandinavians is truly wild. No one living in Scandinavia pre-history had any Sub-Saharan African DNA or close ancestors. If we are talking about the WHG that were the first migrants to Scandinavia, yes they had darker skin than the Scandinavians do today, but they were all blue-eyed, had straight hair, thin lips, and a European/Scandinavian face structure. We really need to let go of this neo-science shit. And the EHG that mixed with the WHG, were light hair and skin but dark eyes. So the SHG would look like an average Swede does today

[petereriksson]

In Swedish we have a word for a coastal area that opens up for a boat to go in deeper inland, in the beginning, it is broad but the further in you go it narrows down and finally you reach the end. That is called a Vik. So a Viking could be somebody that travels by boat into a Vik for the purpose to find ways to make a profit or learn something new or build a new city or whatever positive endeavor. To find a new Vik.

[MDE]

They spoke old Norse, which is very similar to modern day Icelandic, especially in grammar, and is the ancestor of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Their DNA is very close to modern Danes, North Dutch, Norwegians and also surprisingly to Irish people.

[jcastle]

Excellent presentation!! Very interesting. One of the best yet.

[anotherelvis]

11:00 Nitpick: The island is called Zealand (Kattegat is the name of the sea that separates Denmark, Sweden and Norway)

[billfarley]

The lecturer should slow down his speech pattern and speak more precisely to become a better lecturer.

[sissy-_-fnyc]

How tough would you have to be to live in the north during the stone bronze age?

[topcatseriosblack]

This was great ! He was trying not to offend any one but I wish I could speak to him so he could be completely truthful about the manifestation of those regions! Great video .

[brandyseymour]

You have a great channel on early and middle history. You also have quite the radio voice. I am enjoying your channel.

[topcatseriosblack]

Very informative I enjoyed this video alot thanks for the work.

[Wedontbase]

Where is the list of all the music tracks for the video? I need to know what this music is.

[hugodesrosiers-plaisance]

Solid, great stuff. Always cool to see Dr Khan.

[ltvwfew]

The Romans looked at the Franks as barbarians, the Franks looked at the Saxons as barbarians, and the Saxons looked at the Vikings as barbarians.

[dianalynn]

This is very interesting. Could you please slow down a little bit and annunciate? I am having trouble understanding you.

[nowaout]

nick, do you have any good links for ancient italian/sicilian dna studies? thanks Nw0

[susanwozniak]

There are people of predominately Polish origin who have trace amounts of Swedish ancestry. It makes sense because not too long before the Norman Conquest, the kings of Norway, Sweden and Denmark and the Grand Duke of the Poles former an alliance. Then, later on, around the 18th C, Sweden attacked the Poles repeatedly. With soldiers present, new babies often follow.

[TacticalSquirrel]

Interesting video. I checked it out because my Y-DNA is a subclade of I1, I-Y6228, a Germanic haplogroup. My father's family was from West Prussia and Pommern before moving to the USA in the 1870s.

[paul]

Great info! Only a minor suggestion. Can you convince Khan to use a better background? It’s so distracting with the lores camera and bad clipping that leaves white around his headphones. (Ok so I’m a graphic designer so I can’t stop fixating on it 😂)

[MelissaThompson]

Yes, the noun is "vikingr" and it's more of a job description than an ethnic designation.