“Haplogroup X is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. It is found in America, Europe, Western Asia, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. Haplogroup X arose from haplogroup N, roughly 30,000 years ago (just prior to or during the Last Glacial Maximum). It is in turn ancestral to subclades X2 and X1, which arose ca.16-21 thousand and ca.14-24 thousand years ago, respectively. Haplogroup X is found in approximately 2% of native Europeans, and 13% of all native North Americans. Assyrians have roughly 3%. Armenians have up to 8% in Erzurum. Overall, haplogroup X is found in around 2% of the population of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is especially common, 14.3%, among the natives of Bahariya Oasis (Western Desert, Egypt. The X1 subclade is much less frequent, and is largely restricted to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Near East.” ref
“Subclade X2 appears to have undergone extensive population expansion and dispersal around or soon after the Last Glacial Maximum, roughly 20,000 years ago. It is more strongly represented in the Near East, the Caucasus, and southern Europe and somewhat less strongly present in the rest of Europe. The highest concentrations are found in the Ojibway (Canada) (25%), Sioux (USA) (15%), Nuu-Chah-Nulth (12%), Georgia (8%), Orkney (Scotland) (7%), and amongst the Druze Assyrian community in Israel (27%). Subclades of X2 are not present in native South Americans. The oldest known archeological site associated with X2 is Kennewick Man, whose ca. 9000-year-old remains were discovered in Washington State.” ref
“Haplogroup X has been found in various other bone specimens that were analyzed for ancient DNA, including specimens associated with the Alföld Linear Pottery (X2b-T226C, Garadna-Elkerülő út site 2, 1/1 or 100%), Linearbandkeramik (X2d1, Halberstadt-Sonntagsfeld, 1/22 or ~5%), and Iberia Chalcolithic (X2b, La Chabola de la Hechicera, 1/3 or 33%; X2b, El Sotillo, 1/3 or 33%; X2b, El Mirador Cave, 1/12 or ~8%) cultures. Abel-beth-maachah 2201 was a man who lived between 1014 and 836 BCE during the Levant Iron Age and was found in the region now known as Abel Beth Maacah, Metula, Israel. He was associated with the Galilean cultural group. His direct maternal line belonged to mtDNA haplogroup X2b. Haplogroup X has been found in ancient Assyria and ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the late New Kingdom and Roman periods. Fossils excavated at the Late Neolithic site of Kelif el Boroud (Kehf el Baroud) in Morocco, which have been dated to around 5,000 years old, have also been found to carry the X2 subclade.” ref
“Not only the Egyptians, but the Chinese developed very complex funeral rites in order to protect their dead in the afterword. And the two become hierarchical states at a similar time as well around 5,000 years ago. This religious robe of the royal family was buried consisting of 2,216 little jade plates with silver threads holding them together. China and Egypt are also cradles of the World. Evidence of possible contact is seen in horse snaffles – a longish mouthpiece made of bronze that is kept flexible by two interlocking rings in the middle enabling the rider to steer the horse to the right or left. One of them was found in Egypt dated to 3,,200 years ago. Seemingly separated by a distance of around 4970 miles between China and Egypt. And yet, these two civilizations seen as the world’s earliest ones, developed numerous similar inventions, institutions, and traditions – not only concerning instruments of daily life, but also religious rites like the death cult and other religious concepts.” ref
“Also, there is the fact that the simple dwellings in China resembled the ones used in Egypt and in both cultures, people kept dogs. A wide variety of statues, jewelry, ceramics, and cosmetic vessels illustrate the daily life patterns of the societies of both countries. Moreover, both Chinese and Egyptians used pretty much the same type of instruments for washing, a set consisting of a vessel with a handle, and a water bowl. Almost the only thing that differs is how these bronze vessels were decorated. What also differs are the materials used by both cultures, as available local raw materials were different. Along with bronze, the Chinese used varnish for their typical luxurious goods. In Egypt, by contrast, this material was not available. That’s why the Egyptians resorted to glass for their luxurious objects, as demonstrated 3,500-year-old bottles of opaque glass that were used to keep oils and perfumes. A comparison between Chinese and Egyptian cultures is particularly interesting when it comes to death cults. As precious burial objects show, both societies developed very complex rites and funeral customs.” ref
Haplogroup X from Eurasia and Africa revealed two major branches, “X1” and “X2.” ref
X1 is restricted to the populations of North as well as East Africa and the Near East with diversity that indicates an early time compared to X2. ref
“Overall, it appears that the populations of the Near East, the Caucasus, and Mediterranean Europe harbor X2 dating to around 17,900 ± 2,900, at higher levels than northern and northeastern Europe 21,600 ± 4,000 and X2 is rare in Eastern European as well as Central Asian, Siberian, and Indian populations and is virtually absent in the Finno-Ugric and Turkic-speaking people of the Volga-Ural region.” ref
X mtDNAs from North Africa
“X1 is largely restricted to the Afro-Asiatic–speaking populations of North Africa and neighboring areas, including Ethiopia, suggesting diffusion of X1 42,900 – 18,100 years ago alongside the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea subdivided into the two X1a dating to around 17,900 – 11,900 years ago and X1b, time of the entire 42,900 – 18,100 years ago. X2b1 subclade has been identified in a group of Moroccans. Moreover, virtually all (97.2%) haplogroup X mtDNAs from the Near East, the South Caucasus, and Europe belong to X2, as did 100% of those from Siberia and Central Asia and some 36.8% of those from North Africa. ref
X mtDNAs from Native Americans
“X2 includes the two complete Native American X sequences that constitute the distinctive X2a, an early split from the other X2, that lacks close relatives in the entire Old World, including Siberia where most natives of the Americas link too. Native American haplogroup X mtDNAs distinct from that of West Eurasians times seemingly ranged from 12,000–17,000 years ago to 23,000–36,000 years ago. The Native American X2a mutations seen in virtually all previously analyzed Native American X mtDNAs and a match a single X2* sequence from Iran, this Iranian mtDNA would share a common ancestor with the Native American X2a. If we assume that the two complete Native American X sequences (from one Navajo and one Ojibwa) began to diverge while their common ancestor was already in the Americas, implying an arrival time not later than 11,000 years ago. ref
“Haplogroup X is also one of the five haplogroups found in the indigenous peoples of the Americas. (namely, X2a subclade). Although it occurs only at a frequency of about 3% for the total current indigenous population of the Americas, it is a bigger haplogroup in northern North America, where among the Algonquian peoples it comprises up to 25% of mtDNA types. It is also present in lesser percentages to the west and south of this area—among the Sioux (15%), the Nuu-chah-nulth (11%–13%), the Navajo (7%), and the Yakama (5%). In Latin America, Haplotype X6 was present in the Tarahumara 1.8% (1/53) and Huichol 20% (3/15) X6, and X7 was also found in 12% in Yanomani people. Unlike the four main Native American mtDNA haplogroups (A, B, C, D), X is not strongly associated with East Asia. The main occurrence of X in Asia discovered so far is in the Altai people in Siberia.” ref
“One theory of how the X Haplogroup ended up in North America is that the people carrying it migrated from central Asia along with haplogroups A, B, C, and D, from an ancestor from the Altai Region of Central Asia. Two sequences of haplogroup X2 were sampled further east of Altai among the Evenks of Central Siberia. These two sequences belong to X2* and X2b. It is uncertain if they represent a remnant of the migration of X2 through Siberia or a more recent input. This relative absence of haplogroup X2 in Asia is one of the major factors used to support the Solutrean hypothesis during the early 2000s. The Solutrean hypothesis postulates that haplogroup X reached North America with a wave of European migration emerging from the Solutrean culture, a stone-age culture in south-western France and in Spain, by boat around the southern edge of the Arctic ice pack roughly 20,000 years ago.” ref
“Since the later 2000s and during the 2010s, evidence has turned against the Solutrean hypothesis, as no presence of mt-DNA ancestral to X2a has been found in Europe or the Near East. New World lineages X2a and X2g are not derived from the Old World lineages X2b, X2c, X2d, X2e, and X2f, indicating an early origin of the New World lineages “likely at the very beginning of their expansion and spread from the Near East”. A 2008 study came to the conclusion that the presence of haplogroup X in the Americas does not support migration from Solutrean-period Europe. The lineage of haplogroup X in the Americas is not derived from a European subclade, but rather represents an independent subclade, labeled X2a. The X2a subclade has not been found in Eurasia, and has most likely arisen within the early Paleo-Indian population, at roughly 13,000 years ago. A basal variant of X2a was found in the Kennewick Man fossil (ca. 9,000 years ago).” ref
X mtDNAs from Siberia
“Altaian Siberians X mtDNAs is the only X mtDNA in Siberians and is limited to populations of southwestern Siberia. Northeast of the Altai area, X sequences were detected in the Tungusic-speaking Evenks, of the Podkamennaya Tunguska basin (Central Siberia). In contrast to the Altaians, the Evenks did not harbor any West Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups other than X. However, neither of the two Evenk X seem related to the Native American clade X2a rather one was X2b and the other of X2*. Thus, several X haplotypes arrived in Siberia from western Asia during the Palaeolithic, but only X2a crossed Beringia surviving in modern Native Americans.” ref
X mtDNAs from Europe
“X mtDNAs from Europe date to around 17,000–30,000 years ago, X2 relates to all X mtDNAs from Mediterranean Europe, western and Central Asia, Siberia, and the great majority of the Near East, as well as some North African samples. X2 relates to a more recent population expansion in Eurasia, most likely around or after the last glacial maximum. X mtDNAs from Europe 17,000–30,000 years ago and the Near East 13,700–26,600 years ago, which is consistent with a pre-Holocene origin sometime before 11,650 years ago and the spread of this haplogroup into West Eurasia.” ref, ref
X mtDNAs from the Near East
“X mtDNAs from the Near East 13,700–26,600 years ago, which is consistent with a pre-Holocene origin sometime before 11,650 years ago and the spread of this haplogroup into West Eurasia.” ref
X mtDNAs from Iran
“All three Iranian populations exhibit similar frequencies of western Eurasian component, pointing to a first population expansion around 40,000–42,000 years ago, followed by a gradual decrease around 24,000 years ago. Western Eurasian N1, N2, N3, X, R0, R2’JT, and U, account for 90.9% in Azeris, 86.7% in Persians, and 91.1% in Qashqais. A notable difference between Azeris and two other populations studied is the higher frequency of haplogroups X2 (9.1% versus 2.8% in Persians and 2.7% in Qashqais). Persians show a continuous, slightly stepped increase of population size to the present, whereas Azeris gradual increase from around 27,000 years ago and the Qashqais with two steps 10,000 years ago and 2,500 years ago. Seemingly consistent with the data showing the absence or low frequencies of eastern Eurasian haplogroups in the populations from the Anatolian/Caucasus region and the Iranian Plateau.” ref
X mtDNAs from the Caucasus
“97.2% of haplogroup X mtDNAs from the Near East, the South Caucasus, and Europe were belong to subhaplogroup X2, as did all (100%) of those from Siberia and Central Asia and some (36.8%) of those from North Africa. Thus, X2 is characterized by a very wide geographic range but also by an infrequent occurrence. 5% of X2 in West Eurasian and North African populations. Three exceptions include the Druze, the Georgians, and the Orkney Islanders, among whom the frequency of X2 reaches 11%, 8%, and 7%, respectively. The high frequencies of X2 in the Druze and the Orkney Islanders and the relatively high frequency in these populations is most likely due to genetic drift and founder events. Two-thirds of X2 sequences fall into the five clades X2b–X2f.” ref
“Two sequences—one from Lebanon and one from Georgia seem to suggesting either the presence of an early X2 branch and sister groups X2b and X2c (X1 and X2, respectively, encompass one-third of the European sequences excluding the samples from the North Caucasus. It is of interest that some North African sequences (from Morocco and Algeria) belong to X2b as well. Around 12,000 to 10,800 years ago X2b seeming to express a post-glacial population expansion in both West Eurasia and North Africa. Clades X2e and X2f encompass 87.1% from the South Caucasus consistent with a Late Upper Paleolithic origin and a subsequent spread in the region.” ref
- The Upper Paleolithic (around 40,000-10,000 years ago), which was a time of great transition in the world Aurignacian (45,000-29,000 years ago), Gravettian (29,000-22,000 years ago)/Epigravettian (21,000 – 10,000 years ago), Solutrean “replacing Gravettians in most of France and Spain” (22,000-18,000 years ago), Magdalenian(17,000-11,000 years ago), and Azilian/Federmesser (13,000-11,000 years ago). ref
“Significant differences between the North and South Caucasian samples X2e and X2f mtDNAs relate to all X sequences in the Altaians indicates a major geographical barrier between the two regions and as a result, a very low diversity of haplogroup X in the Altaian region different from the diversities for C and D in the same region. Moreover, the Altaian X mtDNAs seem to correspond to possibly around 6,700 years ago or less and it would suggest that Altaians have acquired haplogroup X2 along with the presence in the Altaians wide range of other West Eurasian haplogroups (H, J, I, T, U1, U4, and U5) that comprise around 27% of their mtDNAs. Indeed, likely expressing a migration (from the [southern] Caucasus region) that might have carried X2e mtDNA sequences to the Altai region also explain the other West Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups in modern Altaians.” ref
“X variation is completely captured by two ancient clades X1 is largely restricted to North and East Africa, whereas X2 is spread widely throughout West Eurasia. The split between “African” X1 and “Eurasian” X2 of X are as deep as that within the branches of haplogroup U that also differ profoundly. Thus, U6 is largely restricted to North Africa (as X1), whereas U5 is widespread in West Eurasia (as X2). Times obtained suggest mtDNA haplogroups in West Eurasia and North Africa are ancient in this region. Finally, subclades of X suggest that the Near East is the likely geographical source for the spread of X2 that occurred around, or after, the Late Upper Paleolithic origin when the climate made (something bad or unsatisfactory) better, around the times of a few possible groups such as Epigravettian (21,000 – 10,000 years ago), Solutrean “replacing Gravettian in most of France and Spain” (22,000-18,000 years ago), Magdalenian (17,000-11,000 years ago), and Azilian/Federmesser (13,000-11,000 years ago). The presence of a daughter clade in northern Native Americans testifies to the range of this population expansion.” ref
There is relevant genetic populations in western Eurasia around 9,000 years ago are five. We’ll start with the first two:
- Western Hunter-Gatherers or WHG*: this genetic population cluster occupied much of southern and western Europe at this time. In the north and east, they abutted…
- Eastern Hunter-Gatherers or EHG*: this genetic population is a kind of a hybrid between WHG and a population from the steppe known as Ancestral North Eurasians (ANE, currently represented by one much older ancient DNA sample known as Ma’lta from the Lake Baikal Area). ref
*These labels are those used by researchers in ancient genetics for the genetic clusters which they’ve identified.
“The boundary between WHG and EHG passed west to east through the Baltic region, dividing the Baltic states in the east before taking a southward turn to join the Black Sea at its western end. Populations either side of the boundary appears to be hybrids between WHG and EHG (e.g. Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers or SHG and Ukraine Mesolithic), although there may be other minor components in the Balkans. And in the south-east, there are three other populations and these three populations appear to have interacted and mixed to some extent in the middle east in the period between around 9,000 – 6,000 years ago:
- Anatolian Neolithic: this population, located in Anatolia, is important in spreading farming to all of the Balkans, western Europe, and parts of Ukraine between around 9,000 – 6,000 years ago. Unfortunately, the predecessors of AN in Anatolia have not yet been reported on. It is possible that it’s made up of a mix of earlier populations from the Balkans, Levant, and Iran (due to their genetic similarity, on the diagram I’ve just lumped Anatolia and the Levant together in blue).
- Iran Neolithic: this population, found in NW Iran, shows some possible connection with modern south Asian populations.
- Caucasus Hunter-Gatherers or CHG: this population, found in the Caucasus of course, could be a mixture of Iran Neolithic and mixed EHG/WHG populations, perhaps from the steppe, but also needs to include another, unknown population (NB I’ve lumped these last two related populations together as yellow as it was just becoming too messy with them separate).” ref
- “Language groups in the Caucasus have been found to have a close correlation to genetic ancestry. A genetic study in 2015 by Fu et al. of many modern European populations, identified a previously unidentified lineage, which was dubbed “Caucasian Hunter-Gatherer” (CHG). The study detected a split between CHG and so-called “Western European Hunter-Gatherer” (WHG) lineages, about 45,000 years ago, the presumed time of the original peopling of Europe. CHG separated from the “Early Anatolian Farmers” (EAF) lineage later, at 25,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum. (CHG was extrapolated from, among other sources, the genomes of two fossils from western Georgia – one about 13,300 years old (Late Upper Paleolithic) and the other 9,700 years (Mesolithic), which were compared to the 13,700-year-old Bichon man genome (found in Switzerland). There was probably a migration of populations from the Near East and Caucasus to Europe during the Mesolithic, around 14,000 years ago, much earlier than the migrations associated with the Neolithic Revolution. A few specimens from the Villabruna Cluster also show genetic affinities for East Asians that are derived from gene flow. The light skin pigmentation characteristic of modern Europeans is estimated to have spread across Europe in a “selective sweep” during the Mesolithic (19,000 to 11,000 years ago).” ref
- “The associated TYRP1 alleles, SLC24A5 and SLC45A2, emerge around 19,000 years ago – during the LGM and most likely in the Caucasus. The HERC2 variation for blue eyes first appears around 13,000 to 14,000 years ago in Italy and the Caucasus. Analyzing South Caucasian ancient mitochondrial DNA found continuity in descent in the maternal line for 8,000 years. The same study also found a rapid increase of the population at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 18,000 years ago. The 2015 study by Fu et al. analysed “Eurasian steppe ancestry” – which is associated with the so-called Ancient North Eurasian lineage – among modern European populations, which is linked to the Indo-European expansion. The CHG lineage was found to have contributed significantly to the Yamnaya lineage of Chalcolithic pastoralists in the Pontic steppe, which in turn expanded into Europe from about 5,000 years ago (Indo-European expansion). CHG admixture was also found in South Asia, in a possible marker of the Indo-Aryan migration there. Yardumian et al. (2017) in a population genetics study on the Svans of northwestern Georgia found significant heterogeneity in mt-DNA, with common haplogroups including U1‐U7, H, K, and W6, while Y-DNA haplogroups were less diverse, 78% of Svan males being bearers of Y-haplogroup G2a.” ref
“Genetic affinity of Shuká Káa and the other Northwest Coast prehistoric humans to global and regional indigenous populations. (A) Heat map represents the outgroup ƒ3 statistics estimating the amount of shared genetic drift between Shuká Káa and each of 156 contemporary populations since their divergence with the African Yoruban population. (B) Maximum likelihood tree generated by TreeMix using whole-genome sequencing data from Raghavan et al. (9) and with the Tsimshian genome masked for European ancestry. (C) Principal components analysis projecting Shuká Káa, 939, 302, 443, Anzick-1 (11), Saqqaq (30), and Kennewick Man (14) onto a set of non-African populations from Raghavan et al. (9), with Native American populations masked for nonnative ancestry. (D) Cluster analysis generated by ADMIXTURE for a set of indigenous populations from the Americas, Siberia, the Arctic, and Greenland and the Anzick-1, Kennewick, MA-1 (19), Saqqaq, Shuká Káa, 939, 302, and 443 samples. The number of displayed clusters is K = 8, which was found to have the
best predictive accuracy given the lowest cross-validation index value.” ref
“Shuká Káa in relation to other Native American groups. Schematic showing Shuká Káa placed on the branch leading to North Americans, which is supported by simulation-based D statistics.” ref
“Recent genomic studies of both ancient and modern indigenous people of the Americas have shed light on the demographic processes involved during the first peopling. The Pacific Northwest Coast proves an intriguing focus for these studies because of its association with coastal migration models and genetic ancestral patterns that are difficult to reconcile with modern DNA alone. Here, we report the low-coverage genome sequence of an ancient individual known as
“Shuká Káa” (“Man Ahead of Us”) recovered from the On Your Knees Cave (OYKC) in southeastern Alaska (archaeological site 49-PET-408). The human remains date to around ∼10,300 years ago. We also analyze low-coverage genomes of three more recent individuals from the nearby coast of British Columbia dating from around ∼6,075 to 1,750 years ago. From the resulting time series of genetic data, we show that the Pacific Northwest Coast exhibits genetic continuity for at least the
past 10,300 years ago. We also infer that population structure existed in the late Pleistocene of North America with Shuká Káa on a different ancestral line compared with other North American individuals from the late Pleistocene or early Holocene (i.e., Anzick-1 and Kennewick Man). Despite regional shifts in mtDNA haplogroups, we conclude from individuals sampled through time that people of the northern Northwest Coast belong to an early genetic lineage that may stem from a late Pleistocene coastal migration into the Americas.” ref
“The initial peopling of the Northwest Coast has received much attention because of its proximity to Beringia and associated implications for an initial coastal migration into the Americas. Genetic clues for the peopling of the Northwest Coast, however, may be obscured by later demographic events in the region. Studies based on mtDNA and Y-chromosomal markers suggest that populations in the region likely experienced admixture from other groups that entered the region after the initial peopling. Studies using genome-wide data inferred ancient gene flow into North America likely stemming from subsequent movements after the initial settlement. However, because of the limited genomic data from populations in this geographic region, those studies leave questions regarding the degree of temporal genetic continuity of Northwest Coast populations. In the Americas, the oldest thus far whole genome stems from Anzick-1, dating back to around ∼12,600 years ago and reportedly associated with Clovis technology.” ref
“Anzick-1 has proven to be surprising in a broader genetic sense, showing greater affinity with Central and South American groups than with Northern groups, despite the ancient burial existing in North America (but comparative indigenous populations from the United States are currently lacking). Shuká Káa, unearthed from On Your Knees Cave (Prince of Wales Island, AK), is not associated with Clovis culture but instead, is associated with a maritime tradition consistent with a coastal migration model and has been dated to around ∼10,300 years ago. Shuká Káa exhibited the same mitochondrial haplogroup as Anzick-1, suggesting a link in maternal lineage. Approximately 300 km southeast of the On Your Knees Cave archaeological site is Lucy Island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. This island is the location of an individual, cataloged as 939, who died ∼6,075 years ago. Individual 939 displays genetic affinity to the Pacific Northwest coast
groups, such as the Coast Tsimshian (henceforth Tsimshian), that currently live in the same region, but it is difficult to reject 939 as ancestral to both North and South American groups.” ref
“The only other ancient genome from North America is the Ancient One (also known as Kennewick Man), unearthed in the
US state of Washington and dating back to ∼8,545 years ago. Kennewick Man also displays surprising results as an early Holocene individual who resided in the Pacific Northwest. His mtDNA belongs to the northern North America limited haplogroup X2a, but his nuclear genome shows affinities with Central and South American populations, similar to patterns observed for Anzick-1. However, a direct ancestry test shows the greatest link to living individuals from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, a Native population living in the same geographic region as Kennewick Man. On a broader scale, numerous areas of the Americas exhibit patterns consistent with the genetic continuity of peoples in the same geographic region over time.” ref
“To test hypotheses related to different demographic scenarios for the peopling of the Northwest Coast, we generated a low-coverage genome (including the complete mitochondrial genome) for Shuká Káa from Alaska. In addition, we generated two ancient low-coverage genomes, 302 and 443, from Prince Rupert Harbor (PRH), British Columbia dating to 2,500 and 1,750 years ago, respectively. Along with previously described genomes from the Americas, we test two hypotheses about the peopling of the Northwest Coast. First, we test whether the people of this geographic region show temporal genetic continuity dating back to at least 10,300 years ago. Second, we test whether the ancestors of the Northwest Coast experienced additional gene flow in the mid-Holocene to further explore the previously observed shift in mtDNA haplogroups on the Northwest Coast.” ref
Results
“A Mitochondrial Genome Reassessment. The individuals analyzed exhibit DNA damage patterns consistent with ancient DNA. The complete mitochondrial genome of the Shuká Káa individual belongs to haplogroup D4h3a and was compared with 52 modern (available in GenBank) and 2 ancient D4h3 mitochondrial genomes (939 and Anzick-1). The resulting tree clearly shows that Anzick-1 is ancestral to the entire D4h3a clade, whereas the ancient Northwest Coast mitochondrial genomes belong to two different subbranches known as D4h3a9 and D4h3a12, with the latter here defined and encompassing a modern sample of an individual currently living in Bolivia (SI Text). Today, the haplogroup D4h3a is virtually absent in northern North America.” ref
“To the contrary, the mitochondrial genomes of the more recent ancients from the Northwest Coast (443 and 302) are classified as A2, the most commonly reported mitochondrial haplogroup of native North America. Thus, based on the mtDNA data alone, it might be plausible that the native people of the northern Northwest Coast experienced a drastic change in their mtDNA gene pool in a rather short period, possibly because of additional gene flow in the mid-Holocene (mitochondrial genome change hypothesis). However, considering that the mtDNA haplogroup frequencies are likely to change radically because of drift in small populations over time, such a mitochondrial genome discontinuity might simply be the result of the limited number of complete mitochondrial genomes analyzed from the area, particularly from ancient individuals. Thus, because the mitochondrial genome can describe only part of the ancestral genetic history of the Northwest Coast, we extended the analyses to the entire genome to test alternative hypotheses.” ref
“These data support a shared ancestry for the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast dating back to at least ∼10,300 years ago. The individual supporting this scenario is Shuká Káa, who belongs to mtDNA haplogroup D4h3a. Although both Anzick-1 and 939 also belong to this mtDNA haplogroup, later ancient and modern individuals of the Northwest Coast do not. Despite belonging to different mtDNA haplogroups, Shuká Káa exhibits a close nuclear DNA relationship with 302 (∼2,500 years ago) and 443 (∼1,750 years ago), both of whom belong to mtDNA haplogroup A2, which is observed today at high frequencies among modern Northwest Coast populations. Thus, based on the limited mtDNA data alone, the hypothesis of a change in the genetic composition of the Northwest Coast appearing by the time of 302 and 443 might be plausible. However, our more extended genome-wide analysis does not support a change in the genetic composition of the Northwest Coast appearing by the time of 302 and 443, both of whom form a sister clade with the Tsimshian.” ref
“Instead, we observe a trend of genetic continuity through time, which is exemplified by individual 939 who displays affinities with both the more recent Northwest Coast ancient individuals and Shuká Káa. Individual 939 shares the same mtDNA haplogroup D4h3a as Shuká Káa while belonging to the predominant North American ancestry component observed in 443 and 302. Furthermore, previously published complete mitochondrial genome data from individual 938, who is similar in age and found on the same island site as 939, exhibits an A2 mtDNA haplogroup. These results indicate that the two haplogroups were already present in the ancestral population and are not the result of later gene flow into the area. Also of interest is the evidence for the placement of Shuká Káa on different lineages than Anzick-1 and Kennewick Man. Despite their shared North American geographies and time periods as well as evidence that a single peopling event occurred in the late Pleistocene, our analyses show that population structure existed in the late Pleistocene of North America. These data are concordant with the late Pleistocene archaeological record documenting distinct contemporaneous archaeological cultures in different regions of North America.” ref
“We find that the placement of Shuká Káa (based on D-statistic simulations) is consistent with residing on a branch with modern-day indigenous people from the Northwest Coast, whereas Anzick-1 fits separately on a branch that leads to the southern lineage, including populations from Central and South America. Our result suggests that Shuká Káa was part of a population closely related to the ancestors that gave rise to the current populations of the northern Northwest Coast. On a broader scope, ADMIXTURE analysis revealed a component that dominates contemporary North American populations, which increases over time regarding the Northwest Coast. We also observe a small fraction of this component in the 24,000-year-old MA-1 individual from Siberia. This result suggests that the North American component reflects an early ancestral lineage that has drifted through time to high frequency on the Northwest Coast. It should be noted that, because of the highly degraded nature of the DNA extracted from Shuká Káa sample, the autosomal analyses had less than the optimal number of overlapping sites.” ref
“This outcome is likely the cause for the lack of significance in both the ranked f3 and D statistics when regarding Shuká Káa. In light of these observations, projections that consider missing data and contamination corrections were used to help mitigate the low number of sites available (SI Text). Despite these limitations, the analyses presented here, taken as a whole and compared with higher-depth samples, paint a sensible and convincing picture of the peopling of the Northwest Coast. We conclude that the Northwest Coast exhibits an ancestral lineage that stems from the initial peopling of the region. The observed temporal change of mtDNA haplogroups in the area was probably caused by sampling, and no clear signs of gene flow into the area after the first settlement have been identified. Shuká Káa, who lived some 10,300 years ago, was part of an ancestral population that may have first populated the region but was distinct from ancestral populations related to Anzick-1.” ref
“Although we cannot use our data to identify the specific ancestral location of this coastal lineage, the facts that Shuká Káa lived over 10,000 years ago and that Anzick-1 is related to the South American lineage suggest that the ancestral population likely existed north of the continental ice before the deglaciation of the interior corridor sometime after
12,600 years ago. This inference is supported by both the ADMIXTURE analysis showing a large component of the ancestry of Shuká Káa shared with Siberian populations (the yellow component) and previous analysis by Verdu et al. suggests a closer relationship to Northeast Asian groups by Pacific Northwest populations than Central and South American populations. The collaborative approach of this study shows an example of how indigenous community members and scientific researchers can work together in a positive and mutually beneficial way. In addition, the results presented here reveal the power of regional studies to elucidate demographic complexities, shedding light on the peopling of the Northwest Coast and the early ancestral lineages of North America.” ref
“[*] Perhaps there is even more diversity among Amerindians: Perego classified an outlier X2g, that lacked the markers of X2a1 and was different from the other Old World X2 branches, suggesting another extremely rare founder line in America.” ref
- “Haplogroup X has a wide geographic range covering Europe, North Africa, Asia, and North America
- It descends from the ancient N haplogroup, dating back to at least 30,000 years ago. It evolved from the “N” haplogroup in the Near East and surrounding areas of Western Eurasia.
- It is currently found at very low frequencies in Europe (less than 5% of all MtDNA)
- Three populations carry it at high frequencies: Orkney Islanders (7%), Georgians 8%, Druze (11%) -The Druze have the greatest diversity of X lineages of any population X1a, X1c, X2b, X2e, X2f, X2h and X3 and their territory is very likely a refugium of the original X population.
- It is found among Neolithic Europeans at surprisingly high rates: Elau, Germany (4,6 kya), at 22.2%, [5] and 12.5% at Calden, Germany (3000 cal BCE). In these sites, all carriers were X2 hg.
- It is split into two clades, X1 and X2:
- X1 is found in North and East Africa, with entry routes along the coasts of the Red and Mediterranean seas
- X2 spans Eurasia and is also found in North American natives (X2a haplotype)
- X1 is highest in Africa (36.8% of the X carriers there are X1)
- X2 prevails in the Middle East, Europe, and South Caucasus (97.2% of X hg carriers are X2) and in Central Asia and Siberia (100%)
- X2a (the Amerindian clade) does not have any close relatives in the Old World, including Siberia (Altaian X2e2a is another haplotype that is more recent). Was it lost due to genetic drift?
- X2a split very early from all other X2 haplotypes in the Middle East, right after X began to expand at the time of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)
- The coalescence time for X2a is 18,000 +⁄- 6,800 years ago.
- X2a occurs only at a 3% frequency among North American Natives, so it is quite uncommon
- Its range in US and Canada is centered in the Great Lakes and the Western Plains, and has some outliers in Washington State and Arizona. Perego explains this range as caused by a central dispersion corridor from Beringia to the Great Lakes after the ice sheets receded
- X2a prevails among the Algonquian natives such as the Ojibwe and Chipewa (25% frequency), and is strong among other natives to the West of them: Sioux (15%), Nuu-Chah-Nulth (13%), Navajo (7%), and Yakima(5%). The presence in the Navajo (Southern Na-Dene) is most probably due to recent admixture with other northern Native Americans
- It has not yet been detected in Central or South America
- The American haplotypes are: [*]
♦X2a1
– X2a1a: Sioux and Tanoan speakers
– X2a1a1
– X2a1b: Ojibwe people
– X2a1b1
– X2a1b1a
– X2a1c: Ojibwe people
♦X2a2: Nova Scotia and Newfoundland” ref
MtDNA haplogroup X: An ancient link between Europe/Western Asia and North America?
Brown MD1, Hosseini SH, Torroni A, Bandelt HJ, Allen JC, Schurr TG, Scozzari R, Cruciani F, Wallace DC.
Abstract: “On the basis of comprehensive RFLP analysis, it has been inferred that approximately 97% of Native American mtDNAs belong to one of four major founding mtDNA lineages, designated haplogroups “A”-“D.” It has been proposed that a fifth mtDNA haplogroup (haplogroup X) represents a minor founding lineage in Native Americans. Unlike haplogroups A-D, haplogroup X is also found at low frequencies in modern European populations. To investigate the origins, diversity, and continental relationships of this haplogroup, we performed mtDNA high-resolution RFLP and complete control region (CR) sequence analysis on 22 putative Native American haplogroup X and 14 putative European haplogroup X mtDNAs. The results identified a consensus haplogroup X motif that characterizes our European and Native American samples.” ref
“Among Native Americans, haplogroup X appears to be essentially restricted to northern Amerindian groups, including the Ojibwa, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth, the Sioux, and the Yakima, although we also observed this haplogroup in the Na-Dene-speaking Navajo. Median network analysis indicated that European and Native American haplogroup X mtDNAs, although distinct, nevertheless are distantly related to each other. Time estimates for the arrival of X in North America are 12,000-36,000 years ago, depending on the number of assumed founders, thus supporting the conclusion that the peoples harboring haplogroup X were among the original founders of Native American populations. To date, haplogroup X has not been unambiguously identified in Asia, raising the possibility that some Native American founders were of Caucasian ancestry.” ref
“The genetic sequences of haplogroup X diverged originally from haplogroup N, and subsequently further diverged about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago to give two sub-groups, X1 and X2. Overall haplogroup X accounts for about 2% of the population of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. Sub-group X1 is much less
Origin and Diffusion of mtDNA Haplogroup X
Abstract
“A maximum parsimony tree of 21 complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences belonging to haplogroup X and the survey of the haplogroup-associated polymorphisms in 13,589 mtDNAs from Eurasia and Africa revealed that haplogroup X is subdivided into two major branches, here defined as “X1” and “X2.” The first is restricted to the populations of North and East Africa and the Near East, whereas X2 encompasses all X mtDNAs from Europe, western and Central Asia, Siberia, and the great majority of the Near East, as well as some North African samples.” ref
“Subhaplogroup X1 diversity indicates an early coalescence time, whereas X2 has apparently undergone a more recent population expansion in Eurasia, most likely around or after the last glacial maximum. It is notable that X2 includes the two complete Native American X sequences that constitute the distinctive X2a clade, a clade that lacks close relatives in the entire Old World, including Siberia. The position of X2a in the phylogenetic tree suggests an early split from the other X2 clades, likely at the very beginning of their expansion and spread from the Near East.” ref
“mtDNA and the nonrecombining part of the Y chromosome are widely used in archaeogenetic studies that aim to reveal the human past. The uniparental inheritance and complete linkage of mutations in these two loci allow an unambiguous determination of the phylogenetic relationships between individual lineages. However, the putative genetic histories of the lineages that are obtained do not fully reflect the complex dynamics of ancient populations; thus, the data must be interpreted carefully. Phylogenetic clustering of mtDNA haplogroups has been found to be congruent with geography—there are haplogroups specific to African, Asian, European/West Eurasian, and Native American populations.” ref
Haplogroup X is an exception to this pattern of limited geographical distribution. It is found, generally at low frequencies, in both West Eurasians and some northern groups of Native Americans, but, intriguingly, it is absent in modern north Siberian and East Asian populations, which are genetically and geographically closest to those of Native Americans. Among Siberians, haplogroup X mtDNAs have only been detected in some Altaian populations of southwestern Siberia.” ref
“When the sequence variation of the first hypervariable segment (
“For Native Americans, the relatively old presence of haplogroup X is confirmed by the analysis of ancient human remains. Moreover, Native American haplogroup X mtDNAs form a clade distinct from that of West Eurasians and with coalescence time estimates varying widely depending on both the method of estimation and the number of assumed founders. Thus, the coalescence times ranged from 12,000–17,000 YBP to 23,000–36,000 YBP, times that are consistent with both a pre-glacial population and a post-glacial population diffusion.” ref
“To obtain further information about the extent of haplogroup X diversity, 5 mtDNAs (from 1 Druze, 1 Estonian, 2 Georgians, and 1 Omani) were completely sequenced and were compared with 16 previously published X sequences (fig. 1). These latter sequences included the 11 haplogroup X coding sequences have now been completed with the sequencing of the control region.” ref
“Haplogroup X is also one of the five haplogroups found in the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Although it occurs only at a frequency of about 3% for the total current indigenous population of the Americas, it is a major haplogroup in northern North America, where among the Algonquian peoples it comprises up to 25% of mtDNA types. It is also present in lesser percentages to the west and south of this area — among the Sioux (15%), the Nuu-Chah-Nulth(11%–13%), the Navajo (7%), and the Yakama (5%).” ref
“Unlike the four main Native American mtDNA haplogroups (A, B, C, D) and the Y-chromosome sub-haplogroup Q1a3a, X is not at all strongly associated with East Asia. The main occurrence of X in Asia discovered so far is in
However other research shows that Altaians have maintained their native identity and only begun, very recently, to mix with groups (mostly Russians and Kazakhs) who do not show mtDNA haplogroup X. Genetic studies and researchers show; “the analysis of the tribal structure of Southern Altaians has shown that the present-day Altaians have retained their native language and ethnic identity. They have begun to mix with other ethnic groups (mostly Russians and Kazakhs) only recently, so the interethnic admixture is estimated to be <5%.” ref
“The haplogroup X mtDNAs have not been found in populations of central Asia, including Kazakhs, Uighurs, and
“In addition, these same researches have detailed that the mtDNA haplogroup X haplotype present in the Altaians of Siberia is actually closer to the Natives then that of the Europeans. This is shown by researchers that stated; “The network further suggests that the Altaian X haplotypes occupy the intermediate position between European and American Indian haplogroup X mtDNA lineages” ref
“One theory of how the X Haplogroup ended up in North America is it migrated from central Asia along with the A, B, C, and D Haplogroups, from an ancestor from the Altai Region of Central Asia. Two sequences of haplogroup X2 were sampled further east of Altai among the Evenks of Central Siberia. These two sequences belong to X2* and X2b. It is uncertain if they represent a remnant of the migration of X2 through Siberia or a more recent input.” ref
“This relative absence of haplogroup X2 in Asia is one of the major factors causing the current rethinking of the peopling of the Americas. However, the New World haplogroup X2a is as different from any of the Old World X2b, X2c, X2d, X2e, and X2f lineages as they are from each other, indicating an early origin “likely at the very beginning of their expansion and spread from the Near East.” ref
“(Right side) Evolutionary Relationships of 344 Complete Native American Coding-Region Sequences The sequences belong to the pan-American haplogroups (A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d, and D1) and to the uncommon Native American clades D4h3a and X2a. The evolutionary history was inferred by hand with the maximum-parsimony method, with all the available pan-American coding-region sequences included. The tree is drawn to scale. The evolutionary distances were computed with the maximum-likelihood method and are in the units of a number of base substitutions per site. All positions containing gaps and ambiguous data were eliminated from the data set. The triangle width is proportional to the number of sequences, thus representing the internal haplogroup variation.” ref
“(Left side) Distributions of Haplogroups D4h3a and X2a. The upper maps show the frequency distributions of haplogroup D4h3a, and the lower maps depict X2a frequencies. On the left are shown data from general mixed populations of national states, and on the right are those from Native American groups. Note that the frequency scales (%) employed for general mixed populations and Native American groups are different. The dots indicate the location of the population samples included in each survey. Frequency maps of haplogroups were obtained as in Olivieri et al.” ref
“Schematic Phylogeny of Complete MtDNA Sequences Belonging to Haplogroups D4h3a and X2a. The tree was rooted with a published L3a sequence. A maximum-likelihood (ML) time scale is shown on its bottom. All sequences within
D4h3a and X2a branches are new except for #32, #44, #48, #52–56, #60, #61, #63, #65, #66, and #69. Two additional novel clades, here defined as D4h3b (#01) and X2g (#47), are also included.” ref
Distinctive Paleo-Indian Migration Routes from Beringia Marked by Two Rare mtDNA Haplogroups
“Summary Background: It is widely accepted that the ancestors of Native Americans arrived in the New World via Beringia approximately 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. However, the arrival time(s), number of expansion events, and migration routes into the Western Hemisphere remain controversial because linguistic, archaeological, and genetic evidence have not yet provided coherent answers. Notably, most of the genetic evidence has been acquired from the analysis of the common pan-American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups. In this study, we have instead identified and analyzed mtDNAs belonging to two rare Native American haplogroups named D4h3 and X2a. Results: Phylogeographic analyses at the highest level of molecular resolution (69 entire mitochondrial genomes) reveal
that two almost concomitant paths of migration from Beringia led to the Paleo-Indian dispersal of approximately 15,000–17,000 years ago. Haplogroup D4h3 spread into the Americas along the Pacific coast, whereas X2a entered through the ice-free corridor between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. The examination of an additional 276 entire mtDNA sequences provides similar entry times for all common Native American haplogroups, thus indicating at least a dual origin for PaleoIndians. Conclusions: A dual origin for the first Americans is a striking novelty from the genetic point of view, and it makes plausible a scenario positing that within a rather short period of time, there may have been several entries into the Americas from a dynamically changing Beringian source. Moreover, this implies that more than one language family
was carried along with the Paleo-Indians.” ref
“Subhaplogroup X1 was found to be largely restricted to the Afro-Asiatic–speaking populations of North Africa and neighboring areas, including Ethiopia, suggesting a possible geographic diffusion of X1 alongside the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea (table 1). This subhaplogroup is subdivided into the two clades X1a and X1b, which are defined by two and five coding region mutations, respectively (fig. 2). Both clades share a recurrent transition at 146 in
“Virtually all (97.2%) haplogroup X mtDNAs from the Near East, the South Caucasus, and Europe were found to belong to subhaplogroup X2, as did all (100%) of those from Siberia and Central Asia and some (36.8%) of those from North Africa (table 2). Thus, subhaplogroup X2 is characterized by a very wide geographic range but also by an infrequent occurrence. Indeed, it generally comprises <5% of the mtDNAs in West Eurasian and North African populations (table 1). Three exceptions include the Druze, the Georgians, and the Orkney Islanders, among whom the frequency of X2 reaches 11%, 8%, and 7%, respectively.” ref
“The high frequencies of X2 in the Druze and the Orkney Islanders are combined with a low haplotype diversity (0.400 and 0.473, respectively), and the relatively high frequency in these populations is most likely due to genetic drift and founder events. Overall, it appears that the populations of the Near East, the Caucasus, and Mediterranean Europe harbor subhaplogroup X2 at higher frequencies than those of northern and northeastern Europe (P<.05) and that X2 is rare in Eastern European as well as Central Asian, Siberian, and Indian populations and is virtually absent in the Finno-Ugric and Turkic-speaking people of the Volga-Ural region.” ref
“Coalescence time estimates based on
“Two-thirds of the subhaplogroup X2 sequences fall into the five clades X2b–X2f (fig. 2). Two sequences—one from Lebanon and one from Georgia—lacked the transition at np 1719, suggesting either the presence of an early X2 branch or a reversion at that nucleotide position. The sister groups X2b and X2c (X1 and X2, respectively encompass one-third of the European sequences (excluding the samples from the North Caucasus). It is of interest that some North African sequences (from Morocco and Algeria) belong to X2b as well. Subhaplogroup X2b shows a diversity that is consistent with
“Clades X2e and X2f encompass the majority (87.1%) of the sequences from the South Caucasus area and show coalescence times (12,000 ± 4,000 YBP and 10,800 ± 5,000 YBP, respectively) consistent with a Late Upper Paleolithic (LUP) origin and a subsequent spread in the region. We found significant differences between the haplogroup distribution between the North and the South Caucasian samples, a result that indicates a major geographical barrier between the two regions. The South Caucasian sample is enriched in mtDNAs belonging to clades X2e and X2f (P<.01), whereas the North Caucasian sample shows a higher proportion of sequences derived at
“Clade X2e, defined by the synonymous substitution at 15310, encompasses all haplogroup X sequences in the Altaians (fig. 2). Among the nine Altaian X sequences, eight
“Moreover, the nine Altaian mtDNAs do not harbor any nucleotide difference between
“Further northeast of the Altai area, haplogroup X sequences were detected in the Tungusic-speaking Evenks, of the Podkamennaya Tunguska basin (Central Siberia). In contrast to the Altaians, the Evenks did not harbor any West Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups other than X. However, neither of the two Evenk X haplotypes showed mutations characteristic of the Native American clade X2a.” ref
“Instead, one sequence was a member of X2b and the other of X2* (fig. 2). Thus, one possible scenario is that several X haplotypes arrived in Siberia from western Asia during the Palaeolithic, but only X2a crossed Beringia and survived in modern Native Americans. Alternatively, the presence of two phylogenetically different haplogroup X mtDNA sequences in this particular subpopulation of Evenks might be due to recent gene flow.” ref
“The Native American–specific clade X2a appears to be defined by five mutations, three in the coding region (8913, 12397, and 14502) and two in the control region (200 and 16213) (fig. 1). The transition at np 200 was seen in virtually all previously analyzed Native American haplogroup X mtDNAs, whereas the transition at np 16213 was absent in some of the Ojibwa. We surveyed our Old World haplogroup X mtDNAs for the five diagnostic X2a mutations (table 2) and found a match only for the transition at np 12397 in a single X2* sequence from Iran.” ref
“In a parsimony tree, this Iranian mtDNA would share a common ancestor with the Native American clade (fig. 2). Yet, the nonsynonymous substitution at np 12397 converting threonine to alanine cannot be regarded a conservative marker, as it has also been observed in two different phylogenetic contexts—in haplogroups J1 and L3e—among 794 complete mtDNA sequences. Therefore, the scenario that the threonine to alanine change in the haplogroup X background is indeed due to recurrence appears most plausible.” ref
“These findings leave unanswered the question of the geographic source of Native American X2a in the Old World, although our analysis provides new clues about the time of the arrival of haplogroup X in the Americas. Indeed, if we assume that the two complete Native American X sequences (from one Navajo and one Ojibwa) began to diverge while their common ancestor was already in the Americas, we obtain a coalescence time of 18,000 ± 6,800 YBP, implying an arrival time not later than 11,000 YBP.” ref
“The results of this study point to the following conclusions. First, haplogroup X variation is completely captured by two ancient clades that display distinctive phylogeographic patterns—X1 is largely restricted to North and East Africa, whereas X2 is spread widely throughout West Eurasia. Second, it is apparent that the Native American haplogroup X mtDNAs derive from X2 by a unique combination of five mutations. Third, the few Altaian and Siberian haplogroup X lineages are not related to the Native American cluster, and they are more likely explained by recent gene flow from Europe or from West Asia.” ref
“Fourth, the split between “African” X1 and “Eurasian” X2 subhaplogroups of X is phylogenetically as deep as that within the branches of haplogroup U that also differ profoundly in their phylogeography. Thus, subhaplogroup U6 is largely restricted to North Africa (as X1), whereas subhaplogroup U5 is widespread in West Eurasia (as X2). The phylogeographic patterns and the coalescence times that we obtained here suggest that the basic phylogenetic structures of the mtDNA haplogroups in West Eurasia and North Africa are as ancient as the beginning of the spread of anatomically modern humans in this region.” ref
“Finally, phylogeography of the subclades of haplogroup X suggests that the Near East is the likely geographical source for the spread of subhaplogroup X2, and the associated population dispersal occurred around, or after, the LGM when the climate ameliorated. The presence of a daughter clade in northern Native Americans testifies to the range of this population expansion.” ref
“Areas of the circles are proportional to haplotype frequencies. Populations are indicated by the following abbreviations: ab = Abazin, ad = Adygei, alb = Albanian, alg = Algerian, alt = Altaian, ar = Armenian, arb = Arab from Uzbekistan, be = Bengali, cz = Czech, dr = Druze, eg = Egyptian, es = Estonian, et = Ethiopian, ev = Evenk, fr = French, go = Georgian, gr = Greek, ho = Croat, hu = Hungarian, ir = Iranian, it = Italian, jo = Jordanian, kir = Kyrgyz, kr = Karachay, ku = Kumyk, kw = Kuwaiti, le = Lebanese, mo = Moroccan, ng = Nogay, os = Ossetian, sa = Saudi Arabian, sw = Swede, sy = Syrian, td = Tadjik, tu = Turk, and ukr = Ukrainian. Variant bases are numbered and are shown along links between haplotypes. Nucleotide changes are specified by suffixes only for transversions, and a “d” indicates a deletion. The node marked with a large asterisk (★) matches the root type of haplogroup X. The coalescence times of the clades are shown near the clades. Coalescence times of HVS-I clusters were calculated by means of ρ, the average mutational distance to the founder haplotype of the cluster, by using a mutation rate of 1 transition per 20,180 years in the segment between nps 16090 and 16365. Standard deviations for ρ were calculated as in the work of Saillard et al., a procedure that ignores the variance due to molecular clock calibration.” ref
“Maximum parsimony phylogenetic tree of complete mtDNA sequences belonging to haplogroup X. Five mtDNAs were selected for complete sequence analysis in the course of the present study (Dr09, Es39, Gm66, Go41, and Om1538), 11 coding region sequences were from the work of Herrnstadt et al., but their control region sequences have now been added, and 5 complete sequences (Lev2, MM, E18, Nav125, and Oj2) were taken from the literature. The diagnostic mutations relative to the revised reference sequence are indicated on the branches. Transversions are specified by suffixes, and underlined mutations appear more than once in the tree. For protein-coding genes, “ns” indicates nonsynonymous and “s” synonymous mutations. For coalescence-time estimates, a mutation rate of 1 mutation per 5,139 years in the coding region (nps 577–16023) was used (Mishmar et al.).” ref
Origin and Diffusion of mtDNA Haplogroup X
“A maximum parsimony tree of 21 complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences belonging to haplogroup X and the survey of the haplogroup-associated polymorphisms in 13,589 mtDNAs from Eurasia and Africa revealed that haplogroup X is subdivided into two major branches, here defined as “X1” and “X2.” The first is restricted to the populations of North and East Africa and the Near East, whereas X2 encompasses all X mtDNAs from Europe, western and Central Asia, Siberia, and the great majority of the Near East, as well as some North African samples. Subhaplogroup X1 diversity indicates an early coalescence time, whereas X2 has apparently undergone a more recent population expansion in Eurasia, most likely around or after the last glacial maximum. It is notable that X2 includes the two complete Native American X sequences that constitute the distinctive X2a clade, a clade that lacks close relatives in the entire Old World, including Siberia. The position of X2a in the phylogenetic tree suggests an early split from the other X2 clades, likely at the very beginning of their expansion and spread from the Near East.” ref
Neolithic diffusion of agriculture
“The oldest samples of haplogroup X identified to date are an X2d2, an X2m, and an X2m2 as part of the 26 Early Neolithic genomes sequenced from the Barcın site (6500-6200 BCE or around 8,500 to 8,200 years ago) in north-western Anatolia, and an Early Neolithic X2b from Thessaly in Greece. Apart from one X1 sample from the Cardium Pottery culture in Spain, which could have come from North African herders, all Neolithic European samples tested to date belonged to X2.” ref
“X2b and X2c appear to have been the most common subclades in Neolithic Europe. X2b has been found in Neolithic Greece and Hungary, in Linear Pottery (LBK)-related cultures (Schöningen, Salzmünde) in Germany, in the LBK-derived RRBP culture in the Parisian basin, as well as in Chalcolithic Portugal. X2c was found in LBK-related Baalberge and Rössen cultures in Germany and in
“Apart from that, many X2 samples with undetermined subclades have also been identified in the Starčevo culture in Hungary, the Cardium Pottery culture in southern France, and in Megalithic burials in the Basque country, Navarre and Brittany.” ref
One of the Basal Eurasian haplogroups
“Haplogroup X is one of the few West Eurasian haplogroups (along with N1 and N2, which include haplogroups I and W) that does not descend directly from haplogroup R (the ancestor of haplogroups HV, H, V, J, T, U,
“The Y-DNA (i.e. patrilinear) equivalent of mt-haplogroup R appears to be macro-haplogroup IJK, from which all modern Western Eurasian Y-DNA haplogroups are descended, except for the rarer haplogroups F, G, and H. The Basal Eurasian haplogroups appear to have been the dominant paternal and maternal lineages linked with the diffusion of agriculture from the Fertile Crescent.” ref
“The very first farmers of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in the Near
“Haplogroups X1 and X3 are found mostly in the Levant, North Africa, and parts of south-western European, which correspond fairly well to the distribution of Y-haplogroup G2b. In contrast, only the X2 branch and to Y-haplogroup G2a are found among Europeans, Anatolians, Caucasians, and Altaians/Siberians. X2c and X2d are the main X subclades found in the northern half of Europe and happen to correlate with the distribution Y-haplogroup G2a3b.” ref
“The only anomaly is the extremely low percentage of X in Sardinia (0.4%), which has a lot of G2a and
Indo-European connection
“X2d, X2e, X2n, and X4 are all found in central Europe, around the Caucasus, and in Central Asia, and could, therefore, have been spread at least partially by the Proto-Indo-European speakers during the Bronze Age. Tribes carrying Y-DNA haplogroup R1b are thought to have lived in eastern Anatolia and around the Caucasus for several millennia before migrating to the northwest Caucasus and the Pontic Steppe. They could thence have absorbed X lineages, which would later have been diffused across Europe and parts of Asia settled by the Indo-Europeans. Some of these subclades, notably X2d, would already have been present in Europe due to earlier migrations (Neolithic farmers) from Anatolia.” ref
- X1’2’3
- X1’3
- X1
- X1a: found in the Levant (Druzes) and Egypt
- X1c: found in the Levant (Druzes) and Tunisia. Isolated samples have been reported in Italy, Ireland, and Norway.
- X3
- X3a: found in the Levant (Druzes), Tunisia and Spain (Asturias)
- X1
- X2
- X2a’j
- X2a: found among Native North Americans
- X2a1
- X2a1a: found among the Sioux and Tanoan speakers
- X2a1a1
- X2a1b: found among the Ojibwe people
- X2a1b1
- X2a1b1a
- X2a1b1
- X2a1c: found among the Ojibwe people
- X2a1a: found among the Sioux and Tanoan speakers
- X2a2: found in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
- X2a1
- X2a: found among Native North Americans
- X2j: found in North Africa
- X2a’j
- X2b’d
- X2b: found throughout Europe (incl. Sardinia and Orkney), in Morocco, among the Druzes, and in parts of Central Asia
- X2b1: found in Kazakhstan
- X2b2: found in Morocco
- X2b3
- X2b4: found in England, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Scandinavia, and in the Levant (Druzes)
- X2b4a: found in Britain and Sweden
- X2b4a1: found in Finland
- X2b4a: found in Britain and Sweden
- X2b5: found in Scandinavia and England
- X2b6: found in Germany, Switzerland, England, and Spain (Cantabria)
- X2b6a: found in Germany
- X2b7: found in France, Poland, Belarus, Moldova, and Romania
- X2b8: found in Ireland, Scotland, and Norway
- X2b9: found in Finland
- X2d: found in central and eastern Europe, Italy, Georgia, and Turkmenistan
- X2d1: found in Italy, Germany, and Poland
- X2d2: found in Neolithic Anatolia
- X2b: found throughout Europe (incl. Sardinia and Orkney), in Morocco, among the Druzes, and in parts of Central Asia
- X2c: found mostly in western and northern Europe
- X2c1
- X2c1a: found in Germanic countries, northern France, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, and Finland
- X2c1b: found in Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Ukraine
- X2c1c: found in England, the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia
- X2c1e: found in Finland and in Karelia
- X2c2: found in Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland
- X2c1
- X2e: found in Europe and the Near East
- X2e1: found in Poland and Armenia
- X2e1a: found in Bulgaria and Italy
- X2e1b: found in western Ukraine and Poland
- X2e2: found in Turkey and England
- X2e2a: found in England, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, in the Levant (Druzes), in Yemen, in the Altai (Tubalar, Kizhi), and in South Siberia
- X2e2b: found in Poland and Turkey
- X2e2b1: found in Sweden
- X2e1: found in Poland and Armenia
- X2f: found among the Druzes, in the North & South Caucasus, and in Italy / found in the Kura-Araxes culture (Bronze Age Armenia)
- X2g: found among the Ojibwe people
- X2h: found among the Druzes
- X2i: found in Turkey, around the Caucasus (Armenia, Kabardia), Italy (Sicily), and in Spain (Asturias)
- X2i1: found in Germany, Poland, and Turkey
- X2k: found in Italy
- X2l: found in Iran (Qashqai)
- X2m’n: found in Portugal
- X2m: found in Atlantic Europe, Norway, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Russia / found in Neolithic Anatolia
- X2m1: found in Ireland, Germany, and Italy
- X2m2: found in Italy / found in Neolithic Anatolia
- X2n: found in Italy, the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan), Uzbekistan, and Russia
- X2m: found in Atlantic Europe, Norway, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Russia / found in Neolithic Anatolia
- X2o: found in the Middle East
- X1’3
X4: found in Turkey, Uzbekistan, Italy, and central Europe ref
ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Pre-Columbian Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture 8,000-3,000 years ago
The Mystery Of The Lost Red Paint People (VIDEO)
Secrets Of The Lost Red Paint People (VIDEO)
“The Red Paint People are a Pre-Columbian culture indigenous to the New England and Atlantic Canada regions of North America. They were named after their burials, which used large quantities of ochre, normally red, to cover both the bodies of the dead and grave goods. They flourished between 5,000-3,000 years ago. Alternatively, they can be called by the period in which they lived, either the “Maritime Archaic” (emphasizing a coastal and seafaring culture) or “Late Archaic” (emphasizing time and leaving open the possibility of living inland seasonally), although these terms often cover the longer period from 9,000 years ago to 1000 CE. Multiple hypotheses exist as to which if any later peoples might be their descendants and there is little archaeological evidence to support any hypothesis. The Red Paint People lived, fished, and hunted along the coasts and rivers. Some coastal sites show evidence of year-round occupation, discrediting an older theory that these people were seasonal nomads, living the summers on the coast and the winters inland. Their diet included sea and migratory fish, shellfish, meat, berries, acorns, nuts, and roots. The Red Paint People had stone and bone tools, as well as boats capable of catching swordfish. No pottery or metal tools have been found in sites associated with this culture. Their trading range is known to have extended from Labrador to the New York side of Lake Champlain.” ref
The Swordfish Hunters: The History and Ecology of an Ancient American Sea People (VIDEO)
7,714-year-old grave of a young boy from the Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture and the L’Anse Amour Site in Labrador Canada is the oldest known burial mound in North America. The body was wrapped in a shroud of bark or hide and placed face down in the grave with his head facing to the west. At that point, a large mound of rocks was erected over his burial place. The burnt patches on either side of the body under the mound is charcoal from fires that would have been set north and south of the body in a sacred ritual. The Red Paint People are a Pre-Columbian culture indigenous to the New England and Atlantic Canada regions of North America in which they mainly flourished between 5,000-3,000 years ago. On the west side, it looks like a mound of rocks but from the East Side, there is a small dolmen-like chamber opening. A dolmen is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, with a large flat stone laid on upright ones, and the oldest known are found in Western Europe, dating from around 7,000 years ago. ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
“The L’Anse Amour burial was a circular mound, constructed of large flagstones. Careful excavation revealed the skeleton of a young boy, lying buried several meters below the surface, at the heart of the mound. Offerings buried with the boy included what appeared to be a set of hunting tools – perhaps for hunting walrus. The kit contained stone and bone spearheads, a walrus ivory toggling harpoon head and hand toggle, ceremonial paint objects and a bird-bone whistle. It is intriguing to suppose that the boy may have been killed while on a walrus hunt.” ref
“Megalithic “dolmen” tomb in the Golan, it is possible that the megalithic landscape of the Golan is analogous to the megalithic landscapes of Europe, which developed as palimpsests of short, disparate episodes of megalithic construction over long periods of time. Focusing on dolmens in Jordan, there is a distinct spatial relationship between dolmen fields and settlement sites that were occupied in the Early Bronze I. Furthermore, there is also a clear correspondence in size, where small dolmen fields are found near small Early Bronze I settlement sites, and large dolmen fields are found near large sites. Yet this correlation is not absolute. While dolmens are always found near Early Bronze I settlements, not all Early Bronze I settlements are found near dolmens. Dolmen cemeteries are separated by large areas such as the Wadi Yarmouk that were also settled in the 4th millennium BCE, but in which no dolmens are found. If the distribution of dolmens was solely related to the Early Bronze I settlement landscape, then why are dolmens found close to some Early Bronze I settlement sites but not others?” ref
“‘An answer lies in understanding the distribution of dolmens within the geological landscape. The Golan and Leja are characterized by hard lava flows. And Dolmens are found in areas dominated by hard sandstone, limestone, and basalt formations that are conducive to the extraction of large slabs, and are absent in areas dominated by softer chalks and marls that are suitable for the excavation of subterranean chambers. In short, there’s a distinct correlation between dolmens and Early Bronze I settlements in areas dominated by microcrystalline strata, and a marked absence of dolmens in areas where softer strata are found, even if these areas were also settled in the 4th millennium BCE.” ref
I don’t think they crossed the Atlantic Ocean across the water but by land going both directions from Asia west to Europe as well as east crossing the Bering Strait, between Asia and The Americas.
“There are ∼35,000 presently extant European megaliths, a term which is derived from Greek μέγας (mégas), “big,” and λίϑος (líthos), “stone.” These include megalithic tombs, standing stones, stone circles, alignments, and megalithic buildings or temples. Most of these were constructed during the Neolithic and the Copper Ages and are located in coastal areas. Their distribution is along the so-called Atlantic façade, including Sweden, Denmark, North Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, northwest France, northern Spain, and Portugal, and in the Mediterranean region, including southern and southeastern Spain, southern France, the Islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta and the Balearics, Apulia, northern Italy, and Switzerland. Interestingly, they share similar or even identical architectonic features throughout their distribution. Megalithic graves were built as dolmens and as passage or gallery graves. Thousands of anthropogenic erected stones either stand isolated in the landscapes or were arranged as circles or in rows. There is evidence all across Europe for an orientation of the graves toward the east or southeast in the direction of the rising Sun. The question therefore arises whether there was a single, original source from which a megalithic movement spread over Europe or regional phenomena developed independently due to a similar set of conditions.” ref
“According to study was conducted by Bettina Schulz Paulsson, a prehistoric archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, European megaliths can be traced back to a single hunter-gatherer culture that originated nearly 7,000 years ago in what’s today the Brittany region of northwestern France.” ref
“From 10,000-8,000 years ago, Sweden as a whole became populated by people who lived by hunting, gathering and fishing, and who used simple stone tools. Dwelling places and graves dating from the Stone Age, lasting until about 3,800 years ago, are found today in increasing numbers. The Bronze Age was marked in the Nordic region – especially in Denmark but also in Sweden – by a high level of culture, shown by the artifacts found in graves. After 2,500 years ago, such artifacts become increasingly rare as iron came into more general use. During the early Iron Age, the population of Sweden became settled, and agriculture came to form the basis of the economy and society.” ref
Megalithic tombs in western and northern Neolithic Europe were linked to a kindred society
“A new phenomenon of constructing distinctive funerary monuments, collectively known as megalithic tombs, emerged around 4500 BCE along the Atlantic façade. The megalithic phenomenon has attracted interest and speculation since medieval times. In particular, the origin, dispersal dynamics, and the role of these constructions within the societies that built them have been debated. We generate genome sequence data from 24 individuals buried in five megaliths and investigate the population history and social dynamics of the groups that buried their dead in megalithic monuments across northwestern Europe in the fourth millennium BCE. Our results show kin relations among the buried individuals and an overrepresentation of males, suggesting that at least some of these funerary monuments were used by patrilineal societies.” ref
“Paleogenomic and archaeological studies show that Neolithic lifeways spread from the Fertile Crescent into Europe around 9000 BCE, reaching northwestern Europe by 4000 BCE. Starting around 4500 BCE, a new phenomenon of constructing megalithic monuments, particularly for funerary practices, emerged along the Atlantic façade. While it has been suggested that the emergence of megaliths was associated with the territories of farming communities, the origin and social structure of the groups that erected them has remained largely unknown. We generated genome sequence data from human remains, corresponding to 24 individuals from five megalithic burial sites, encompassing the widespread tradition of megalithic construction in northern and western Europe, and analyzed our results in relation to the existing European paleogenomic data. The various individuals buried in megaliths show genetic affinities with local farming groups within their different chronological contexts. Individuals buried in megaliths display (past) admixture with local hunter-gatherers, similar to that seen in other Neolithic individuals in Europe. In relation to the tomb populations, we find significantly more males than females buried in the megaliths of the British Isles. The genetic data show close kin relationships among the individuals buried within the megaliths, and for the Irish megaliths, we found a kin relation between individuals buried in different megaliths. We also see paternal continuity through time, including the same Y-chromosome haplotypes reoccurring. These observations suggest that the investigated funerary monuments were associated with patrilineal kindred groups. Our genomic investigation provides insight into the people associated with this long-standing megalith funerary tradition, including their social dynamics.” ref
Radiocarbon dates and Bayesian modeling support maritime diffusion model for megaliths in Europe
“The radiocarbon dates suggest that the first megalithic graves in Europe were closed small structures or dolmens built aboveground with stone slabs and covered by a round or long mound of earth or stone. These graves emerge in the second half of the fifth millennium calibrated years (cal) BC within a time interval of 4794 cal BC to 3986 cal BC (95.4%; 4770 cal BC to 4005 cal BC, 68.2%) (Dataset S3, M7-2 to M29-4), which can be reduced most probably to 200 y to 300 y, in northwest France, the Channel Islands, Catalonia, southwestern France, Corsica, and Sardinia. Taking the associated cultural material into consideration, megalithic graves from Andalusia, Galicia, and northern Italy presumably belong to this first stage (Fig. 3). There are no radiocarbon dates available from the early megalithic graves in these regions, or their calibrated ranges show an onset extending into the fourth millennium cal BC, as is the case for Galicia. Of these regions, northwest France is the only one which exhibits monumental earthen constructions before the megaliths (SI Appendix, Fig. S2).” ref
“The Passy graves in the Paris Basin have no megalithic chamber yet, but are impressive labor-intensive structures with a length of up to 280 m. These graves seem to be the earliest monumental graves in Europe; the first individual buried in the Passy necropolis died in 5061 cal BC to 4858 cal BC (95.4%; 5029 cal BC to 4946 cal BC, 68.2%) (Dataset S3, M1-4). Somewhat later, the first monumental graves emerge in Brittany, and especially in the region of Carnac, in the form of round tumuli covering pit burials, stone cists, and dry-wall chambers. The first building phase of the tumulus St. Michel in Carnac is dated to the time interval 4782 cal BC to 4594 cal BC (95.4; 4724 cal BC to 4618 cal BC, 68.2%) (Dataset S3, M4-2 to M4-4). The earliest megalithic grave chambers in Brittany, such as Tumiac, Kervinio, Castellic, St. Germain, Manio 5, Mané Hui, and Kerlescan (14–16), emerge within this horizon as an architectonic feature of monumental long and round mounds. For these early megaliths, no radiocarbon determinations are available. It is only possible to limit the time interval of construction to the Ancient Castellic horizon based on the typochronological considerations of the grave goods and according to Ancient Castellic contexts with associated radiocarbon results ranging from 4794 cal BC to 3999 cal BC (95.4%; 4770 cal BC to 4034 cal BC, 68.2%) (Dataset S3, M7-2 to M7-7).” ref
“In the Seine-Yonne basin at around 4500 B.C. numerous cemeteries appeared, including giant “enclosures” which as a funerary manifestation would have no later equivalent in Europe. These constructions, whether tumuli, palisade enclosures, or mixed systems, sometimes exceed 300 m in length but contain very few burials. Beyond the classic interpretation, which sees high investment in a few individuals as reflecting a hierarchical society, structural analysis of these cemeteries shows the repetition of an elementary module, associated with consistent attributes, evoking hunting and more broadly, the wild. An exercise of association and exclusion brings into play the morphology and arrangements of the monuments, the gender of the inhumed individuals and their attributes. In the male monuments, a central figure is thus distinguished, sometimes with original physical characteristics and accompanied by an enigmatic insignia: a pointed bone instrument with a wide base, trivially called an “Eiffel Tower”. This figure is surrounded by other individuals interpreted as hunters on the basis of the accompanying objects. Other individuals probably served as no more than passive figurants, rather like foils. In any case, the monumental cemeteries of the 5th millennium correspond to the earliest human groups for which we can identify diverse and repetitive statuses.” ref
No ‘lost tribes’ or aliens: what ancient DNA reveals about American prehistory
“New genetics research settles questions about the peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador. Genetic Discontinuity between the Maritime Archaic and Beothuk Populations in Newfoundland, Canada which addresses the genetic diversity within three different ancient groups who lived in Newfoundland and Labrador. One reason this region is of particular interest is that it’s on the furthest northeastern margin of North America and so was one of the last areas in the Americas to be peopled. It appears to have been occupied successively by three culturally distinct groups beginning about 10,000 years ago in Labrador and 6,000 years ago in Newfoundland: the Maritime Archaic, the Paleo-Inuit (also referred to as the Paleo-Eskimo), and the indigenous peoples that Europeans called the Beothuk. Today the region is home to several indigenous groups, including the Inuit, the Innu, the Mi’kmaq and the Southern Inuit of NunatuKavut.” ref
“The members of the Maritime Archaic tradition created the oldest known burial mounds in North America (dating to 7,714 years ago) and subsisted upon coastal marine resources. Approximately 3,400 years ago they seem to have abandoned Newfoundland, either in response to the appearance of Paleo-Inuit in the region or because of climate changes. The Paleo-Inuit’s presence on the island overlapped with the peoples referred to as the Beothuk beginning around 2,000 years ago. The Beothuk encountered European settlers in 1500 AD, and in response to their presence gradually moved to the interior of the island, where their populations declined. Apart from that single exception, the Maritime Archaic, Paleo-Inuit, and Beothuk are clearly genetically distinctive from one another. However, it’s important to note that this study was done on mitochondrial DNA, which is exclusively matrilineally inherited, and so we can only say that the three groups were not maternally related.” ref
“In the case of Newfoundland, the three groups were genetically distinct; they do not share any maternal haplogroups except for haplogroup X2a, lineages of which were found in both the Maritime Archaic and Beothuk. (The presence of haplogroup X2a in North American populations has sometimes been cited as evidence for European ancestry in ancient Americans. If you’re interested in why I and most other geneticists specializing in Native American populations disagree with that, you can read about it here).” ref
Y-DNA
- Atlantic Megalithic Culture(c. 6,000 to 4,000 years ago; Western Europe):
- Megalithic Ireland (c. 6,700 to 5,350 years ago): H2a (x2), I (x4), I2a1a2 (x4), I2a1a2-S21825 (x7), I2a2 (x4), I2a2a-L1195 (x21) => Sanchez-Quinto (2019) & Cassidy et al. (2020)
- Megalithic Britain (c. 7,700 to 4,550 years ago): I (x1), I2 (x1), I2a1b (x13), I2a2 (x6) => Olalde (2018) & Sanchez-Quinto (2019)
- Neolithic Britain (c. 5,900 to 4,450 years ago): I (x2), I2a1b (x1), I2a2 (x1), I2a2a (x11) => Brace (2019)
- Megalithic Sweden (c. 5,300 to 4,600 years ago): I2a1b (x4) => Sanchez-Quinto (2019)
- Megalithic France (c. 4,800 to 4,800 years ago): I2a1 (x2) => Lacan (2011)
- Megalithic Iberia (c. 5,900 to 5,350 years ago): H2 (x1), I2a1a (x1), I2a2 (x1) => Mathieson (2015) & Martiniano (2017)
- H2a : x3
- I* : x7
- I2 : x1
- I2a1-P37.2 : x4
- I2a1a-CTS595
- I2a1a2-S21825 : x7
- I2a1b-M423 : x9
- I2a1b1-L161.1 : x6
- I2a1b1a-S2639 : x1
- I2a1b1a1-L1498 : x3
- I2a1b1a-S2639 : x1
- I2a1b1-L161.1 : x6
- I2a1a-CTS595
- I2a2-M436 : x2
- I2a2a-M223 : x5
- I2a2a1-CTS616 : x3
- I2a2a1a1-M284 : x1
- I2a2a1a1a-L1195 : x21
- I2a2a1a1a1-L126 : x1
- I2a2a1a1a2-L1193 : x2
- I2a2a1a1a-L1195 : x21
- I2a2a1b-CTS10100 : x1
- I2a2a1b2 : x1 REF
- I2a2a1a1-M284 : x1
- I2a2a1-CTS616 : x3
- I2a2a-M223 : x5
- I2a1-P37.2 : x4
- I2 : x1
mtDNA
- Atlantic Megalithic Culture(c. 6,000 to 4,000 years ago; Western Europe): H1, H3, HV0, J, K (x2), K1a, K1a1, K1a1b1 (x2), N1a, T2a1b, T2b (x2), U4, U5b (x3), U5b1, U5b2b3, U5b3, V, X (x2), X2
- Neolithic Britain (c. 6,000 to 4,500 years ago): H (x10), HV (x1), J (x6), K1 (x16), T2 (x5), U2 (x1), U5a (x3), U5b (x4), U8 (x1), V (x1), X2 (x2), W (x1).
- Neolithic Ireland (c. 5,950 to 4,800 years ago): H (x2), H1 (x3), H1c (x1), H4a1a1 (x2), H4a1a1a (x1), J1c3 (x2), J1c6 (x1), J2b1a (x1), K1a (x2), K1a1 (x1) K1a2b (x1), K1a4a1 (x1), K1b1a1 (x2), K2a9 (x1), T2b (x1), T2b3 (x1), T2c1d (x1), T2c1d1 (x2), U4a2f (x1), U5b1 (x1), U5b1c (x1), U5b1c1 (x1), U5b2a3 (x1), U5b2b (x1), U8b1b (x1), V (x1), X2b (x1), X2b4 (x1), W5b (x1). => source: Cassidy et al. (2020) REF
6810-5750-Years-Old Teviec, Sacrificed, Shaman Burial Site in France
This is the sacred grave of two women who died violently, were found at Teviec, buried under a “roof” of antlers and honored by shells (like stars of the afterlife?) as well as decorated with necklaces made of shells including a bracelet. ref
“The island is one of only a few known Mesolithic sites in Brittany, along with Pointe de la Torche, Hoëdic and Beg er Vil on the Quiberon peninsula. During the Mesolithic period, the sea level was much lower and it was possible to walk from France to England, and Téviec was situated in a lagoon.” ref
“Extensive middens were found near places of habitation on the island, containing the remains of shellfish, crustaceans, squid, fish, birds, cetaceans, and terrestrial mammals including wild boar, red deer, roe deer, dogs, and so on. The hunter-gatherers of Téviec buried their own dead in the middens. This helped to preserve the graves, as the carbonates from the shells in the middens insulated human bones from the acid soil.” ref
“Many tools made of bone and antler were found along with numerous flint microliths. They were originally believed to date to between 6740 and 5680 years BP. This indicates a longer occupation than previously thought, with its end coming at the beginning of the Neolithic period. Ten multiple graves were discovered at Téviec containing a total of 23 individuals, including adults and children.” ref
“Some of the remains were scattered between different locations. Several of those interred appear to have died violent deaths. One individual was found to have a flint arrowhead stuck in a vertebra. In another grave, the skeletons of two women aged 25–35, dubbed the “ladies of Téviec”, were found with signs of violence on both. One had sustained five blows to the head, two of which would have been fatal, and had received at least one arrow shot between the eyes. The other had also traces of injuries. However, this diagnosis is disputed by some archaeologists, who have suggested that the weight of earth above the grave may have been responsible for damaging the skeletons.” ref
“The bodies had been buried with great care in a pit that was partly dug into the ground and covered over with debris from the midden. They had been protected by a roof made of antlers and provided with a number of grave goods including pieces of flint and boar bones, and jewelry made of seashells drilled and assembled into necklaces, bracelets, and ringlets for the legs. The grave assemblage was excavated from the site in one piece and is now on display at the Muséum de Toulouse, where its restoration in 2010 earned a national award.” ref
“The common occurrence of the mtDNA Haplogroups A, B, C, and D among eastern Asian and Indigenous American populations has long been recognized, along with the presence of Haplogroup X. As a whole, the greatest frequency of the four Indigenous American associated haplogroups occurs in the Altai–Baikal region of southern Siberia. Some subclades of C and D closer to the Indigenous American subclades occur among Mongolian, Amur, Japanese, Korean, and Ainu populations. A 2023 DNA study found that “[i]n addition to previously described ancestral sources in Siberia, Australo-Melanesia, and Southeast Asia, … northern coastal China also contributed to the gene pool of Native Americans” as well as that of Japanese people.” ref
“When studying human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, the results indicated that Indigenous American haplogroups, including haplogroup X, are part of a single founding East Asian population. It also indicates that the distribution of mtDNA haplogroups and the levels of sequence divergence among linguistically similar groups were the result of multiple preceding migrations from Bering Straits populations. All Indigenous American mtDNA can be traced back to five haplogroups, A, B, C, D, and X. More specifically, Indigenous American mtDNA belongs to sub-haplogroups A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d, D1, and X2a (with minor groups C4c, D2a, and D4h3a). This suggests that 95% of Indigenous American mtDNA is descended from a minimal genetic founding female population, comprising sub-haplogroups A2, B2, C1b, C1c, C1d, and D1. The remaining 5% is composed of the X2a, D2a, C4c, and D4h3a sub-haplogroups.” ref
“X is one of the five mtDNA haplogroups found in Indigenous Americans. Native Americans mostly belong to the X2a clade, which has never been found in the Old World. According to Jennifer Raff, X2a probably originated in the same Siberian population as the other four founding maternal lineages. Haplogroup X genetic sequences diverged about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago to give two sub-groups, X1 and X2. X2’s subclade X2a occurs only at a frequency of about 3% for the total current Indigenous population of the Americas.” ref
“However, X2a is a major mtDNA subclade in North America; among the Algonquian peoples, it comprises up to 25% of mtDNA types. It is also present in lower percentages to the west and south of this area — among the Sioux (15%), the Nuu-chah-nulth (11%–13%), the Navajo (7%), and the Yakama (5%). The predominant theory for sub-haplogroup X2a’s appearance in North America is migration along with A, B, C, and D mtDNA groups, from a source in the Altai Mountains of central Asia. Haplotype X6 was present in the Tarahumara 1.8% (1/53) and Huichol 20% (3/15).” ref
“Sequencing of the mitochondrial genome from Paleo-Eskimo remains (3,500 years old) are distinct from modern Indigenous Americans, falling within sub-haplogroup D2a1, a group observed among today’s Aleutian Islanders, the Aleut, and Siberian Yupik populations. This suggests that the colonizers of the far north, and subsequently Greenland, originated from later coastal populations. Then a genetic exchange in the northern extremes introduced by the Thule people (proto-Inuit) approximately 800–1,000 years ago began. These final Pre-Columbian migrants introduced haplogroups A2a and A2b to the existing Paleo-Eskimo populations of Canada and Greenland, culminating in the modern Inuit.” ref
“A route through Beringia is seen as more likely than the Solutrean hypothesis. An abstract in a 2012 issue of the “American Journal of Physical Anthropology” states that “The similarities in ages and geographical distributions for C4c and the previously analyzed X2a lineage provide support to the scenario of a dual origin for Paleo-Indigenous Americans. Taking into account that C4c is deeply rooted in the Asian portion of the mtDNA phylogeny and is indubitably of Asian origin, the finding that C4c and X2a are characterized by parallel genetic histories definitively dismisses the controversial hypothesis of an Atlantic glacial entry route into North America.” ref
“Another study, also focused on the mtDNA (that which is inherited through only the maternal line), revealed that the Indigenous people of the Americas have their maternal ancestry traced back to a few founding lineages from East Asia, which would have arrived via the Bering strait. According to this study, it is probable that the ancestors of the Indigenous Americans would have remained for a time in the region of the Bering Strait, after which there would have been a rapid movement of settling of the Americas, taking the founding lineages to South America.” ref
“According to a 2016 study, focused on mtDNA lineages, “a small population entered the Americas via a coastal route around 16,000 years ago, following previous isolation in eastern Beringia for ~2,400 to 9,000 years after separation from eastern Siberian populations. Following a rapid movement throughout the Americas, limited gene flow in South America resulted in a marked phylogeographic structure of populations, which persisted through time. All of the ancient mitochondrial lineages detected in this study were absent from modern data sets, suggesting a high extinction rate. To investigate this further, we applied a novel principal components multiple logistic regression test to Bayesian serial coalescent simulations. The analysis supported a scenario in which European colonization caused a substantial loss of pre-Columbian lineages.” ref
“Haplogroup X now appears to be an old and complex lineage. Two major branches, X1 and X2, each with worldwide
distribution, were recently identified in a parsimony analysis of complete DNA sequences. Members of haplogroup X in Native Americans belong to a distinct clade (X2a) that has no close relatives in the Old World. All members of haplogroup
X in the Siberian Altai coalesced about 6700 years ago, which substantially postdates the peopling of the Americas, and argues against a close relationship between the Altai and modern Native Americans.” ref
“Beginning around 3,500 years ago, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to present-day Newfoundland around AD 1. The ancestors of this group had three earlier cultural phases, each lasting approximately 500 years. DNA from the teeth of Demasduit and her husband Nonosabasut, two Beothuk individuals who had died in the 1820s. The results assigned them to Haplogroup X (mtDNA) and Haplogroup C (mtDNA), respectively, which are also found in current Mi’kmaq populations in Newfoundland. It also demonstrated they were solely of First Nation indigenous maternal ancestry, unlike some earlier studies that suggested European admixture. However, the analysis also showed that although the two Beothuk and living Mi’kmaq occur in the same haplogroups, SNP differences between Beothuk and Mi’kmaq individuals indicated that they were dissimilar within those groups, and that a “close relationship” was not supported.” ref
Maritime Archaic Tradition
“The Maritime Archaic is a North American cultural complex of the Late Archaic along the coast of Newfoundland, the Canadian Maritimes, and northern New England. The culture consisted of sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic who used wooden boats. Maritime Archaic sites have been found as far south as Maine and as far north as Labrador. Their settlements included longhouses, and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, as shown by white chert from northern Labrador being found as far south as Maine. The Maritime Archaic is one cultural complex among several of the Archaic stage for North American peoples. Archaeogenetic research established, that the Maritime Archaic people had nothing in common with the Inuit, nor with Beothuk Indians, who later inhabited the same area after the climatic conditions changed.” ref
“Another significant Maritime Archaic find are the “Red Ochre Culture” burials throughout the Northeast United States. They may represent the last phases of the Maritime Archaic, as they contain significant finds of white chert artifacts common to other Maritime Archaic sites. This issue is currently debated among scholars. If the hypothesis of the Red Ochre as the last state of the Maritime Archaic period is accepted, then the latter is best known from a mortuary site in Newfoundland at Port au Choix. This site revealed over 100 graves embellished with red ochre. The graves contained many elaborate artifacts, including barbed bone points; daggers of ivory, antler, or bone; toggling harpoons; shell-beaded clothing; and a burial suit made from more than 200 skins of the now-extinct great auk. These finds indicated a stratified society with trade and some level of social complexity.” ref
Archaeologists recognize two variants of the Maritime Archaic tradition called the Northern and Southern branches.
*The Northern Branch
“Northern branch people were the earlier of the two variants to arrive in the province. They are descended from the earliest people along the Labrador Straits and their maritime adaptation is obvious by about 7,500 years ago. Excavation of a burial mound at L’Anse Amour in southern Labrador revealed a walrus tusk, fish bones, a true toggling harpoon, an antler toggle or handle, and other objects that indicate a reliance on marine resources by this time. Both the mound and the harpoon are among the oldest in the world. Once established in southern Labrador, Maritime Archaic people continued to spread northward until, by about 5,000 years ago they had reached Saglek and Ramah Bays in far northern Labrador. In the latter area, they discovered the source of a distinctive stone called “Ramah chert”, from which they fashioned their chipped stone tools and weapons for the next 2,500 years. A series of archaeological “complexes” dating between 7,500 and 3,500 years ago indicates a long in situ evolution along most of the coast of Labrador.” ref
“Throughout this time, skillfully flaked stone spear points with narrow blades and long, tapering stems for hafting were made from Ramah chert. Other chipped stone tools include knives and scrapers, some of the former of truly impressive proportions. Stone was ground and polished to make axes, adzes, and gouges for working wood. Polished slate lance points were used to dispatch wounded sea mammals. Ulus, or half-moon shaped knives, and knives of more familiar forms were used to prepare skins and dress game. We can only imagine what objects were made from bone, antler, ivory wood, skin, bark, and other organic materials. They must have included frames for dwellings, harpoon and spear shafts, tailored clothing, bark and wood containers, and many others. Some authorities believe that the Maritime Archaic people may have made large dugout boats in areas where wood was available or could be traded for. Ornaments include cut mica, soapstone pendants, or plummets, and large blades made from Ramah chert that must have served ceremonial, rather than utilitarian, functions.” ref
“Although very few traces of food bone remain in the acid soils of Labrador, those that have been recovered and the location of Maritime Archaic campsites and villages all indicate a reliance on marine resources. Fish, seals, seabirds, walrus, and perhaps even small whales were hunted regularly. Land mammals, particularly caribou, seem also to have been important for food, antler, bone, and skins. At least one large seasonal village, at Nulliak in northern Labrador, seems to have been established for communal caribou hunting. “Drive lanes” consisting of rows of piled rocks may have channeled migrating caribou virtually into the hunters’ campsite. In suitable areas, houses were made by excavating depressions into boulder beaches. At some sites, where the retreating sea level left a series of raised beaches, house forms can be seen to have evolved from single-family dwellings to communal dwellings consisting of a number of “rooms” arranged in a linear fashion along the beach. These dwellings reached their peak at the Nulliak site, where “longhouses” as long as 100m have been discovered.” ref
“About 4,000 years ago a new people – the Palaeo-Eskimos – arrived in northern Labrador. As these strangers became more familiar with Labrador and continued to expand southward, the Maritime Archaic people seem to disappear at the same time. Although the two events could be coincidental, many archaeologists believe that the Palaeo-Eskimos were more successful in competing for resources and the best campsites. Whatever the cause, the Northern Branch Maritime Archaic people disappear from the archaeological record not long after 3,500 years ago. If any groups survived after that time, their whereabouts has escaped the intensive archaeological research on the Labrador coast.” ref
*The Southern Branch
“The origins of the Southern Branch Maritime Archaic people are obscure. Shortly before 6,000 years ago, a new stone tool complex appears in southern Labrador. The people who made these tools preferred locally-available cherts and rhyolites to the quartz, quartzite, and Ramah chert of the Northern branch people. By about 5,000 or 4,500 years ago these people had become established on the coast of southern Labrador and parts of the central coast. They made spear points with broad blades and side-notches for hafting. Flaked knives, scrapers, and expedient tools were made from the same local materials. A few sites have produced ground stone axes, adzes, and gouges, as well as polished slate spears and lances. Their house types are not known; only traces of stone fireplaces, sometimes arranged in a row along ancient beach terraces, have been found.” ref
“The Southern branch people were the first humans to colonize the Island of Newfoundland. By at least 5,000 years ago they had established themselves on the Northern Peninsula and within a millennium their campsites are to be found virtually around the entire Newfoundland coastline. In general, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the Maritime Archaic people were remarkably well adapted to life in Newfoundland – from their technology and economy to their intellectual culture.” ref
“The most instructive Maritime Archaic site yet excavated is that at Port au Choix where the regular arrival of migrating harp seals each spring provided a reliable and predictable food source. In 1968 a large site containing hundreds of artifacts was excavated. In contrast to most other locations, the soil at Port au Choix permits the preservation of organic material. Artifacts of bone, ivory, and antler provide some indication of the elaborate and sophisticated technology of the Southern branch Maritime Archaic people. Toggling and barbed harpoons, bird darts and fish spears of bone and antler, and a series of polished bone and slate spear and lance points, all suggest a technology perfectly suited to the Newfoundland environment. Scrapers and “beamers” of caribou bone, bone awls and fine needles made from split bird bones were used to prepare and sew hides into clothing. Stone gouges, axes and adzes, as well as small chisels and knives made from beaver incisors, were used to fell trees and convert the wood into products that we can only imagine.” ref
“Many ornaments and magical or religious objects were also found at Port au Choix. The bills and feet of birds, teeth of bears, foxes, wolves and beaver, pins and pendants carved to resemble birds, a bear, and even a human form were also recovered. Shell beads, pendants resembling swords and paddles, crystals of quartz, calcite and amethyst, and any number of unusually-shaped stones may have served religious, as well as decorative, purposes. Many of these objects relate to the sea, for example, a carved stone killer whale, a tooth from the same animal, and depictions of gulls, ducks, loons, and the now-extinct great auk. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that certain individuals must have had some special symbolic relationships with these birds and mammals.” ref
“In central and southern Labrador this successful adaptation seems to have persisted into the succeeding Intermediate Indian and Recent Indian periods. Some archaeologists believe that the Southern branch Maritime Archaic people may have been, in some way, the distant ancestors of today’s Innu. Despite the apparent success of the Southern branch people in Labrador, and the apparently well-adjusted nature of their culture in Newfoundland, the residents of the Island of Newfoundland disappear from the archaeological record about 3,000 years ago. Archaeologists can cite no convincing influx of a new population at this time, as was the case with the Palaeo-Eskimos in northern Labrador. For the present, the disappearance of the maritime Archaic people, and what seems to be a complete absence of Indian people from Newfoundland between 3,000 and 2,000 years ago remains one of the most puzzling mysteries in the Native history of the province.” ref
The Genetic Structure of Chinese Hui Ethnic Group Revealed by Complete Mitochondrial Genome Analyses Using Massively Parallel Sequencing
“The median network of European-specific lineages appearing in Hui group coupled with reference individuals from worldwide populations. The size of the nodes is proportional to the number of individuals carrying that node. The length of the branch is positively correlated with the number of different mutations, the longer the branch, the more different the mutations.” ref
“From the perspective of historical development, it was recorded that the Hui group were of varied ancestries, many of whom descended from Central Asians and West Asians, such as Persians, Arabs, and Turks who intermarried with the local Han individuals. It was said that their intermarriage was largely promoted by a historically political factor during the medieval Chinese dynasties, especially during the Yuan dynasty. In addition, the economic factor also played a certain role in the formation of Hui minority. For example, the economic exchanges along the Silk Road might simultaneously facilitate the population integrations. Finally, partial Uygur, Mongolian, and Tibetan people might also contribute to the eventual formation of the Hui minority according to the record.” ref
“The present study provided the first set of complete mitochondrial genome data of 98 Hui individuals residing in Northwest China. According to the present research, most of the mtDNA haplogroups of Hui group were classified into the lineages peculiar to East Asia, while a few haplogroups into the lineages peculiar to Europe. This notion might imply a dominant contribution of East Eurasian to Hui’s maternal gene pool and a concomitant dilution of its West Eurasian provenance. In detail, the Hui group exhibited greater genetic affinities with Chinese Han populations, largely ascribing to the widespread haplogroups D4, D5, M7, B4, and F1 in these populations. Further, the expansion time of Hui group was during the Late Pleistocene. Compared with Northern Han, the Hui group tended to display a closer expansion time with Southern Han populations. Finally, we also found that the present Hui group might contain different degrees of genetic imprints from the Uygur, Tibetan, and Tajik groups, suggesting the existence of multi-ethnic integration events in the process of forming the maternal genetic landscape of Hui group. Overall, due to the genetic complexity of Hui group in China, more Hui samples from different regions need to be taken into consideration to obtain a more comprehensive sight of its maternal genetic compositions.” ref
Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey
“How have human cultures engaged with and thought about animals, plants, rocks, clouds, and other elements in their natural surroundings? Do animals and other natural objects have a spirit or soul? What is their relationship to humans? In this new study, Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. He considers the varieties of animism found in these cultures as well as their shared desire to live respectfully within larger natural communities. Drawing on his extensive casework, Harvey also considers the linguistic, performative, ecological, and activist implications of these different animisms.” ref
My thoughts on Religion Evolution with external links for more info:
- (Pre-Animism Africa mainly, but also Europe, and Asia at least 300,000 years ago), (Pre-Animism – Oxford Dictionaries)
- (Animism Africa around 100,000 years ago), (Animism – Britannica.com)
- (Totemism Europe around 50,000 years ago), (Totemism – Anthropology)
- (Shamanism Siberia around 30,000 years ago), (Shamanism – Britannica.com)
- (Paganism Turkey around 12,000 years ago), (Paganism – BBC Religion)
- (Progressed Organized Religion “Institutional Religion” Egypt around 5,000 years ago), (Ancient Egyptian Religion – Britannica.com)
- (CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS after 4,000 years ago) (Origin of Major Religions – Sacred Texts)
- (Early Atheistic Doubting at least by 2,600 years ago) (History of Atheism – Wikipedia)
“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…
Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.
Understanding Religion Evolution:
- Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago)
- Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago)
- Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago)
- Shamanism (Siberia: 30,000 years ago)
- Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago)
- Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago), (Egypt, the First Dynasty 5,150 years ago)
- CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago)
- Early Atheistic Doubting (at least by 2,600 years ago)
“An Archaeological/Anthropological Understanding of Religion Evolution”
It seems ancient peoples had to survived amazing threats in a “dangerous universe (by superstition perceived as good and evil),” and human “immorality or imperfection of the soul” which was thought to affect the still living, leading to ancestor worship. This ancestor worship presumably led to the belief in supernatural beings, and then some of these were turned into the belief in gods. This feeble myth called gods were just a human conceived “made from nothing into something over and over, changing, again and again, taking on more as they evolve, all the while they are thought to be special,” but it is just supernatural animistic spirit-belief perceived as sacred.
Quick Evolution of Religion?
Pre-Animism (at least 300,000 years ago) pre-religion is a beginning that evolves into later Animism. So, Religion as we think of it, to me, all starts in a general way with Animism (Africa: 100,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in supernatural powers/spirits), then this is physically expressed in or with Totemism (Europe: 50,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in mythical relationship with powers/spirits through a totem item), which then enlists a full-time specific person to do this worship and believed interacting Shamanism (Siberia/Russia: 30,000 years ago) (theoretical belief in access and influence with spirits through ritual), and then there is the further employment of myths and gods added to all the above giving you Paganism (Turkey: 12,000 years ago) (often a lot more nature-based than most current top world religions, thus hinting to their close link to more ancient religious thinking it stems from). My hypothesis is expressed with an explanation of the building of a theatrical house (modern religions development). Progressed organized religion (Egypt: 5,000 years ago) with CURRENT “World” RELIGIONS (after 4,000 years ago).
Historically, in large city-state societies (such as Egypt or Iraq) starting around 5,000 years ago culminated to make religion something kind of new, a sociocultural-governmental-religious monarchy, where all or at least many of the people of such large city-state societies seem familiar with and committed to the existence of “religion” as the integrated life identity package of control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine, but this juggernaut integrated religion identity package of Dogmatic-Propaganda certainly did not exist or if developed to an extent it was highly limited in most smaller prehistoric societies as they seem to lack most of the strong control dynamics with a fixed closed magical doctrine (magical beliefs could be at times be added or removed). Many people just want to see developed religious dynamics everywhere even if it is not. Instead, all that is found is largely fragments until the domestication of religion.
Religions, as we think of them today, are a new fad, even if they go back to around 6,000 years in the timeline of human existence, this amounts to almost nothing when seen in the long slow evolution of religion at least around 70,000 years ago with one of the oldest ritual worship. Stone Snake of South Africa: “first human worship” 70,000 years ago. This message of how religion and gods among them are clearly a man-made thing that was developed slowly as it was invented and then implemented peace by peace discrediting them all. Which seems to be a simple point some are just not grasping how devastating to any claims of truth when we can see the lie clearly in the archeological sites.
I wish people fought as hard for the actual values as they fight for the group/clan names political or otherwise they think support values. Every amount spent on war is theft to children in need of food or the homeless kept from shelter.
Here are several of my blog posts on history:
- To Find Truth You Must First Look
- (Magdalenian/Iberomaurusian) Connections to the First Paganists of the early Neolithic Near East Dating from around 17,000 to 12,000 Years Ago
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- Possible Clan Leader/Special “MALE” Ancestor Totem Poles At Least 13,500 years ago?
- Jewish People with DNA at least 13,200 years old, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- Baltic Reindeer Hunters: Swiderian, Lyngby, Ahrensburgian, and Krasnosillya cultures 12,020 to 11,020 years ago are evidence of powerful migratory waves during the last 13,000 years and a genetic link to Saami and the Finno-Ugric peoples.
- The Rise of Inequality: patriarchy and state hierarchy inequality
- Fertile Crescent 12,500 – 9,500 Years Ago: fertility and death cult belief system?
- 12,400 – 11,700 Years Ago – Kortik Tepe (Turkey) Pre/early-Agriculture Cultic Ritualism
- Ritualistic Bird Symbolism at Gobekli Tepe and its “Ancestor Cult”
- Male-Homosexual (female-like) / Trans-woman (female) Seated Figurine from Gobekli Tepe
- Could a 12,000-year-old Bull Geoglyph at Göbekli Tepe relate to older Bull and Female Art 25,000 years ago and Later Goddess and the Bull cults like Catal Huyuk?
- Sedentism and the Creation of goddesses around 12,000 years ago as well as male gods after 7,000 years ago.
- Alcohol, where Agriculture and Religion Become one? Such as Gobekli Tepe’s Ritualistic use of Grain as Food and Ritual Drink
- Neolithic Ritual Sites with T-Pillars and other Cultic Pillars
- Paganism: Goddesses around 12,000 years ago then Male Gods after 7,000 years ago
- First Patriarchy: Split of Women’s Status around 12,000 years ago & First Hierarchy: fall of Women’s Status around 5,000 years ago.
- Natufians: an Ancient People at the Origins of Agriculture and Sedentary Life
- J DNA and the Spread of Agricultural Religion (paganism)
- Paganism: an approximately 12,000-year-old belief system
- Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism)
- Shaman burial in Israel 12,000 years ago and the Shamanism Phenomena
- Need to Mythicized: gods and goddesses
- 12,000 – 7,000 Years Ago – Paleo-Indian Culture (The Americas)
- 12,000 – 2,000 Years Ago – Indigenous-Scandinavians (Nordic)
- Norse did not wear helmets with horns?
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic Skull Cult around 11,500 to 8,400 Years Ago?
- 10,400 – 10,100 Years Ago, in Turkey the Nevail Cori Religious Settlement
- 9,000-6,500 Years Old Submerged Pre-Pottery/Pottery Neolithic Ritual Settlements off Israel’s Coast
- Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city” around 9,500 to 7,700 years ago (Turkey)
- Cultic Hunting at Catal Huyuk “first religious designed city”
- Special Items and Art as well as Special Elite Burials at Catal Huyuk
- New Rituals and Violence with the appearance of Pottery and People?
- Haplogroup N and its related Uralic Languages and Cultures
- Ainu people, Sámi people, Native Americans, the Ancient North Eurasians, and Paganistic-Shamanism with Totemism
- Ideas, Technology and People from Turkey, Europe, to China and Back again 9,000 to 5,000 years ago?
- First Pottery of Europe and the Related Cultures
- 9,000 years old Neolithic Artifacts Judean Desert and Hills Israel
- 9,000-7,000 years-old Sex and Death Rituals: Cult Sites in Israel, Jordan, and the Sinai
- 9,000-8500 year old Horned Female shaman Bad Dürrenberg Germany
- Neolithic Jewelry and the Spread of Farming in Europe Emerging out of West Turkey
- 8,600-year-old Tortoise Shells in Neolithic graves in central China have Early Writing and Shamanism
- Swing of the Mace: the rise of Elite, Forced Authority, and Inequality begin to Emerge 8,500 years ago?
- Migrations and Changing Europeans Beginning around 8,000 Years Ago
- My “Steppe-Anatolian-Kurgan hypothesis” 8,000/7,000 years ago
- Around 8,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Mistress of Animals, “Ritual” Motif
- Pre-Columbian Red-Paint (red ochre) Maritime Archaic Culture 8,000-3,000 years ago
- 7,522-6,522 years ago Linear Pottery culture which I think relates to Arcane Capitalism’s origins
- Arcane Capitalism: Primitive socialism, Primitive capital, Private ownership, Means of production, Market capitalism, Class discrimination, and Petite bourgeoisie (smaller capitalists)
- 7,500-4,750 years old Ritualistic Cucuteni-Trypillian culture of Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine
- Roots of a changing early society 7,200-6,700 years ago Jordan and Israel
- Agriculture religion (Paganism) with farming reached Britain between about 7,000 to 6,500 or so years ago and seemingly expressed in things like Western Europe’s Long Barrows
- My Thoughts on Possible Migrations of “R” DNA and Proto-Indo-European?
- “Millet” Spreading from China 7,022 years ago to Europe and related Language may have Spread with it leading to Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Indo-European (PIE), ancestor of Indo-European languages: DNA, Society, Language, and Mythology
- The Dnieper–Donets culture and Asian varieties of Millet from China to the Black Sea region of Europe by 7,022 years ago
- Kurgan 6,000 years ago/dolmens 7,000 years ago: funeral, ritual, and other?
- 7,020 to 6,020-year-old Proto-Indo-European Homeland of Urheimat or proposed home of their Language and Religion
- Ancient Megaliths: Kurgan, Ziggurat, Pyramid, Menhir, Trilithon, Dolman, Kromlech, and Kromlech of Trilithons
- The Mytheme of Ancient North Eurasian Sacred-Dog belief and similar motifs are found in Indo-European, Native American, and Siberian comparative mythology
- Elite Power Accumulation: Ancient Trade, Tokens, Writing, Wealth, Merchants, and Priest-Kings
- Sacred Mounds, Mountains, Kurgans, and Pyramids may hold deep connections?
- Between 7,000-5,000 Years ago, rise of unequal hierarchy elite, leading to a “birth of the State” or worship of power, strong new sexism, oppression of non-elites, and the fall of Women’s equal status
- Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite & their slaves
- Hell and Underworld mythologies starting maybe as far back as 7,000 to 5,000 years ago with the Proto-Indo-Europeans?
- The First Expression of the Male God around 7,000 years ago?
- White (light complexion skin) Bigotry and Sexism started 7,000 years ago?
- Around 7,000-year-old Shared Idea of the Divine Bird (Tutelary and/or Trickster spirit/deity), “Ritual” Motif
- Nekhbet an Ancient Egyptian Vulture Goddess and Tutelary Deity
- 6,720 to 4,920 years old Ritualistic Hongshan Culture of Inner Mongolia with 5,000-year-old Pyramid Mounds and Temples
- First proto-king in the Balkans, Varna culture around 6,500 years ago?
- 6,500–5,800 years ago in Israel Late Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Period in the Southern Levant Seems to Express Northern Levant Migrations, Cultural and Religious Transfer
- KING OF BEASTS: Master of Animals “Ritual” Motif, around 6,000 years old or older…
- Around 6000-year-old Shared Idea of the Solid Wheel & the Spoked Wheel-Shaped Ritual Motif
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan; a Proto-Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna or Star of Venus?
- Religious/Ritual Ideas, including goddesses and gods as well as ritual mounds or pyramids from Northeastern Asia at least 6,000 years old, seemingly filtering to Iran, Iraq, the Mediterranean, Europe, Egypt, and the Americas?
- Maykop (5,720–5,020 years ago) Caucasus region Bronze Age culture-related to Copper Age farmers from the south, influenced by the Ubaid period and Leyla-Tepe culture, as well as influencing the Kura-Araxes culture
- 5-600-year-old Tomb, Mummy, and First Bearded Male Figurine in a Grave
- Kura-Araxes Cultural 5,520 to 4,470 years old DNA traces to the Canaanites, Arabs, and Jews
- Minoan/Cretan (Keftiu) Civilization and Religion around 5,520 to 3,120 years ago
- Evolution Of Science at least by 5,500 years ago
- 5,500 Years old birth of the State, the rise of Hierarchy, and the fall of Women’s status
- “Jiroft culture” 5,100 – 4,200 years ago and the History of Iran
- Stonehenge: Paganistic Burial and Astrological Ritual Complex, England (5,100-3,600 years ago)
- Around 5,000-year-old Shared Idea of the “Tree of Life” Ritual Motif
- Complex rituals for elite, seen from China to Egypt, at least by 5,000 years ago
- Around 5,000 years ago: “Birth of the State” where Religion gets Military Power and Influence
- The Center of the World “Axis Mundi” and/or “Sacred Mountains” Mythology Could Relate to the Altai Mountains, Heart of the Steppe
- Progressed organized religion starts, an approximately 5,000-year-old belief system
- China’s Civilization between 5,000-3,000 years ago, was a time of war and class struggle, violent transition from free clans to a Slave or Elite society
- Origin of Logics is Naturalistic Observation at least by around 5,000 years ago.
- Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State)
- Ziggurats (multi-platform temples: 4,900 years old) to Pyramids (multi-platform tombs: 4,700 years old)
- Did a 4,520–4,420-year-old Volcano In Turkey Inspire the Bible God?
- Finland’s Horned Shaman and Pre-Horned-God at least 4,500 years ago?
- 4,000-year-Old Dolmens in Israel: A Connected Dolmen Religious Phenomenon?
- Creation myths: From chaos, Ex nihilo, Earth-diver, Emergence, World egg, and World parent
- Bronze Age “Ritual” connections of the Bell Beaker culture with the Corded Ware/Single Grave culture, which were related to the Yamnaya culture and Proto-Indo-European Languages/Religions
- Low Gods (Earth/ Tutelary deity), High Gods (Sky/Supreme deity), and Moralistic Gods (Deity enforcement/divine order)
- The exchange of people, ideas, and material-culture including, to me, the new god (Sky Father) and goddess (Earth Mother) religion between the Cucuteni-Trypillians and others which is then spread far and wide
- Koryaks: Indigenous People of the Russian Far East and Big Raven myths also found in Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and other Indigenous People of North America
- 42 Principles Of Maat (Egyptian Goddess of the justice) around 4,400 years ago, 2000 Years Before Ten Commandments
- “Happy Easter” Well Happy Eostre/Ishter
- 4,320-3,820 years old “Shimao” (North China) site with Totemistic-Shamanistic Paganism and a Stepped Pyramid
- 4,250 to 3,400 Year old Stonehenge from Russia: Arkaim?
- 4,100-year-old beaker with medicinal & flowering plants in a grave of a woman in Scotland
- Early European Farmer ancestry, Kelif el Boroud people with the Cardial Ware culture, and the Bell Beaker culture Paganists too, spread into North Africa, then to the Canary Islands off West Africa
- Flood Accounts: Gilgamesh epic (4,100 years ago) Noah in Genesis (2,600 years ago)
- Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism)
- When was the beginning: TIMELINE OF CURRENT RELIGIONS, which start around 4,000 years ago.
- Early Religions Thought to Express Proto-Monotheistic Systems around 4,000 years ago
- Kultepe? An archaeological site with a 4,000 years old women’s rights document.
- Single God Religions (Monotheism) = “Man-o-theism” started around 4,000 years ago with the Great Sky Spirit/God Tiān (天)?
- Confucianism’s Tiān (Shangdi god 4,000 years old): Supernaturalism, Pantheism or Theism?
- Yes, Your Male God is Ridiculous
- Mythology, a Lunar Deity is a Goddess or God of the Moon
- Sacred Land, Hills, and Mountains: Sami Mythology (Paganistic Shamanism)
- Horse Worship/Sacrifice: mythical union of Ruling Elite/Kingship and the Horse
- The Amorite/Amurru people’s God Amurru “Lord of the Steppe”, relates to the Origins of the Bible God?
- Bronze Age Exotic Trade Routes Spread Quite Far as well as Spread Religious Ideas with Them
- Sami and the Northern Indigenous Peoples Landscape, Language, and its Connection to Religion
- Prototype of Ancient Analemmatic Sundials around 3,900-3,150 years ago and a Possible Solar Connection to gods?
- Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
- The Weakening of Ancient Trade and the Strengthening of Religions around 3000 years ago?
- Are you aware that there are religions that worship women gods, explain now religion tears women down?
- Animistic, Totemistic, and Paganistic Superstition Origins of bible god and the bible’s Religion.
- Myths and Folklore: “Trickster gods and goddesses”
- Jews, Judaism, and the Origins of Some of its Ideas
- An Old Branch of Religion Still Giving Fruit: Sacred Trees
- Dating the BIBLE: naming names and telling times (written less than 3,000 years ago, provable to 2,200 years ago)
- Did a Volcano Inspire the bible god?
- Dené–Yeniseian language, Old Copper Complex, and Pre-Columbian Mound Builders?
- No “dinosaurs and humans didn’t exist together just because some think they are in the bible itself”
- Sacred Shit and Sacred Animals?
- Everyone Killed in the Bible Flood? “Nephilim” (giants)?
- Hey, Damien dude, I have a question for you regarding “the bible” Exodus.
- Archaeology Disproves the Bible
- Bible Battle, Just More, Bible Babble
- The Jericho Conquest lie?
- Canaanites and Israelites?
- Accurate Account on how did Christianity Began?
- Let’s talk about Christianity.
- So the 10 commandments isn’t anything to go by either right?
- Misinformed christian
- Debunking Jesus?
- Paulism vs Jesus
- Ok, you seem confused so let’s talk about Buddhism.
- Unacknowledged Buddhism: Gods, Savior, Demons, Rebirth, Heavens, Hells, and Terrorism
- His Foolishness The Dalai Lama
- Yin and Yang is sexist with an ORIGIN around 2,300 years ago?
- I Believe Archaeology, not Myths & Why Not, as the Religious Myths Already Violate Reason!
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Aquatic Ape Theory/Hypothesis? As Always, Just Pseudoscience.
- Ancient Aliens Conspiracy Theorists are Pseudohistorians
- The Pseudohistoric and Pseudoscientific claims about “Bakoni Ruins” of South Africa
- Why do people think Religion is much more than supernaturalism and superstitionism?
- Religion is an Evolved Product
- Was the Value of Ancient Women Different?
- 1000 to 1100 CE, human sacrifice Cahokia Mounds a pre-Columbian Native American site
- Feminist atheists as far back as the 1800s?
- Promoting Religion as Real is Mentally Harmful to a Flourishing Humanity
- Screw All Religions and Their Toxic lies, they are all fraud
- Forget Religions’ Unfounded Myths, I Have Substantiated “Archaeology Facts.”
- Religion Dispersal throughout the World
- I Hate Religion Just as I Hate all Pseudoscience
- Exposing Scientology, Eckankar, Wicca and Other Nonsense?
- Main deity or religious belief systems
- Quit Trying to Invent Your God From the Scraps of Science.
- Archaeological, Scientific, & Philosophic evidence shows the god myth is man-made nonsense.
- Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists: Misunderstanding, Rhetoric, Misinformation, Fabrications, and Lies
- Misinformation, Distortion, and Pseudoscience in Talking with a Christian Creationist
- Judging the Lack of Goodness in Gods, Even the Norse God Odin
- Challenging the Belief in God-like Aliens and Gods in General
- A Challenge to Christian use of Torture Devices?
- Yes, Hinduism is a Religion
- Trump is One of the Most Reactionary Forces of Far-right Christian Extremism
- Was the Bull Head a Symbol of God? Yes!
- Primate Death Rituals
- Christian – “God and Christianity are objectively true”
- Australopithecus afarensis Death Ritual?
- You Claim Global Warming is a Hoax?
- Doubter of Science and Defamer of Atheists?
- I think that sounds like the Bible?
- History of the Antifa (“anti-fascist”) Movements
- Indianapolis Anti-Blasphemy Laws #Free Soheil Rally
- Damien, you repeat the golden rule in so many forms then you say religion is dogmatic?
- Science is a Trustable Methodology whereas Faith is not Trustable at all!
- Was I ever a believer, before I was an atheist?
- Atheists rise in reason
- Mistrust of science?
- Open to Talking About the Definition of ‘God’? But first, we address Faith.
- ‘United Monarchy’ full of splendor and power – Saul, David, and Solomon? Most likely not.
- Is there EXODUS ARCHAEOLOGY? The short answer is “no.”
- Lacking Proof of Bigfoots, Unicorns, and Gods is Just a Lack of Research?
- Religion and Politics: Faith Beliefs vs. Rational Thinking
- Hammer of Truth that lying pig RELIGION: challenged by an archaeologist
- “The Hammer of Truth” -ontology question- What do You Mean by That?
- Navigation of a bad argument: Ad Hominem vs. Attack
- Why is it Often Claimed that Gods have a Gender?
- Why are basically all monotheistic religions ones that have a male god?
- Shifting through the Claims in support of Faith
- Dear Mr. AtHope, The 20th Century is an Indictment of Secularism and a Failed Atheist Century
- An Understanding of the Worldwide Statistics and Dynamics of Terrorist Incidents and Suicide Attacks
- Intoxication and Evolution? Addressing and Assessing the “Stoned Ape” or “Drunken Monkey” Theories as Catalysts in Human Evolution
- Sacred Menstrual cloth? Inanna’s knot, Isis knot, and maybe Ma’at’s feather?
- Damien, why don’t the Hebrews accept the bible stories?
- Dealing with a Troll and Arguing Over Word Meaning
- Knowledge without Belief? Justified beliefs or disbeliefs worthy of Knowledge?
- Afrocentrism and African Religions
- Crecganford @crecganford offers history & stories of the people, places, gods, & culture
- Empiricism-Denier?
I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education.
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Low Gods “Earth” or Tutelary deity and High Gods “Sky” or Supreme deity
“An Earth goddess is a deification of the Earth. Earth goddesses are often associated with the “chthonic” deities of the underworld. Ki and Ninhursag are Mesopotamian earth goddesses. In Greek mythology, the Earth is personified as Gaia, corresponding to Roman Terra, Indic Prithvi/Bhūmi, etc. traced to an “Earth Mother” complementary to the “Sky Father” in Proto-Indo-European religion. Egyptian mythology exceptionally has a sky goddess and an Earth god.” ref
“A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of nature, motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction or who embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. In some religious traditions or movements, Heavenly Mother (also referred to as Mother in Heaven or Sky Mother) is the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky father or God the Father.” ref
“Any masculine sky god is often also king of the gods, taking the position of patriarch within a pantheon. Such king gods are collectively categorized as “sky father” deities, with a polarity between sky and earth often being expressed by pairing a “sky father” god with an “earth mother” goddess (pairings of a sky mother with an earth father are less frequent). A main sky goddess is often the queen of the gods and may be an air/sky goddess in her own right, though she usually has other functions as well with “sky” not being her main. In antiquity, several sky goddesses in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Near East were called Queen of Heaven. Neopagans often apply it with impunity to sky goddesses from other regions who were never associated with the term historically. The sky often has important religious significance. Many religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic, have deities associated with the sky.” ref
“In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a “father”, often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of “sky father” may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an “earth mother“. “Sky Father” is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity name as the Greek Zeûs Pater and Roman Jupiter and Germanic Týr, Tir or Tiwaz, all of which are reflexes of the same Proto-Indo-European deity’s name, *Dyēus Ph₂tḗr. While there are numerous parallels adduced from outside of Indo-European mythology, there are exceptions (e.g. In Egyptian mythology, Nut is the sky mother and Geb is the earth father).” ref
Tutelary deity
“A tutelary (also tutelar) is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of “tutelary” expresses the concept of safety and thus of guardianship. In late Greek and Roman religion, one type of tutelary deity, the genius, functions as the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the familiar spirit of European folklore.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons. They were also worshiped as deities. Seonangshin is the patron deity of the village in Korean tradition and was believed to embody the Seonangdang. In Philippine animism, Diwata or Lambana are deities or spirits that inhabit sacred places like mountains and mounds and serve as guardians. Such as: Maria Makiling is the deity who guards Mt. Makiling and Maria Cacao and Maria Sinukuan. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which give life to human bodies come from nature and return to it after death. Ancestors are therefore themselves tutelaries to be worshiped. And similarly, Native American beliefs such as Tonás, tutelary animal spirit among the Zapotec and Totems, familial or clan spirits among the Ojibwe, can be animals.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Austronesian beliefs such as: Atua (gods and spirits of the Polynesian peoples such as the Māori or the Hawaiians), Hanitu (Bunun of Taiwan‘s term for spirit), Hyang (Kawi, Sundanese, Javanese, and Balinese Supreme Being, in ancient Java and Bali mythology and this spiritual entity, can be either divine or ancestral), Kaitiaki (New Zealand Māori term used for the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land), Kawas (mythology) (divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of the living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts), Tiki (Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne and represents deified ancestors found in most Polynesian cultures). ” ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref, ref
Mesopotamian Tutelary Deities can be seen as ones related to City-States
“Historical city-states included Sumerian cities such as Uruk and Ur; Ancient Egyptian city-states, such as Thebes and Memphis; the Phoenician cities (such as Tyre and Sidon); the five Philistine city-states; the Berber city-states of the Garamantes; the city-states of ancient Greece (the poleis such as Athens, Sparta, Thebes, and Corinth); the Roman Republic (which grew from a city-state into a vast empire); the Italian city-states from the Middle Ages to the early modern period, such as Florence, Siena, Ferrara, Milan (which as they grew in power began to dominate neighboring cities) and Genoa and Venice, which became powerful thalassocracies; the Mayan and other cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica (including cities such as Chichen Itza, Tikal, Copán and Monte Albán); the central Asian cities along the Silk Road; the city-states of the Swahili coast; Ragusa; states of the medieval Russian lands such as Novgorod and Pskov; and many others.” ref
“The Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BCE; also known as Protoliterate period) of Mesopotamia, named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. City-States like Uruk and others had a patron tutelary City Deity along with a Priest-King.” ref
“Chinese folk religion, both past, and present, includes myriad tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals, highly cultivated sages, and prominent ancestors can be deified and honored after death. Lord Guan is the patron of military personnel and police, while Mazu is the patron of fishermen and sailors. Such as Tu Di Gong (Earth Deity) is the tutelary deity of a locality, and each individual locality has its own Earth Deity and Cheng Huang Gong (City God) is the guardian deity of an individual city, worshipped by local officials and locals since imperial times.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) in Hinduism, personal tutelary deities are known as ishta-devata, while family tutelary deities are known as Kuladevata. Gramadevata are guardian deities of villages. Devas can also be seen as tutelary. Shiva is the patron of yogis and renunciants. City goddesses include: Mumbadevi (Mumbai), Sachchika (Osian); Kuladevis include: Ambika (Porwad), and Mahalakshmi. In NorthEast India Meitei mythology and religion (Sanamahism) of Manipur, there are various types of tutelary deities, among which Lam Lais are the most predominant ones. Tibetan Buddhism has Yidam as a tutelary deity. Dakini is the patron of those who seek knowledge.” ref
“A tutelary (also tutelar) The Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places: for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his personal spirit or daimonion:
You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me … . This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything, and this is what stands in the way of my being a politician.” ref
“Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion. The tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult. An emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Precedents for claiming the personal protection of a deity were established in the Republican era, when for instance the Roman dictator Sulla advertised the goddess Victory as his tutelary by holding public games (ludi) in her honor.” ref
“Each town or city had one or more tutelary deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war and siege. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept ritually secret on pain of death (for a supposed case, see Quintus Valerius Soranus). The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome. The Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, and was often housed in an especially grand temple on the arx (citadel) or other prominent or central location. The tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned.” ref
“The Roman ritual of evocatio was premised on the belief that a town could be made vulnerable to military defeat if the power of its tutelary deity were diverted outside the city, perhaps by the offer of superior cult at Rome. The depiction of some goddesses such as the Magna Mater (Great Mother, or Cybele) as “tower-crowned” represents their capacity to preserve the city. A town in the provinces might adopt a deity from within the Roman religious sphere to serve as its guardian, or syncretize its own tutelary with such; for instance, a community within the civitas of the Remi in Gaul adopted Apollo as its tutelary, and at the capital of the Remi (present-day Rheims), the tutelary was Mars Camulus.” ref
Household deity (a kind of or related to a Tutelary deity)
“A household deity is a deity or spirit that protects the home, looking after the entire household or certain key members. It has been a common belief in paganism as well as in folklore across many parts of the world. Household deities fit into two types; firstly, a specific deity – typically a goddess – often referred to as a hearth goddess or domestic goddess who is associated with the home and hearth, such as the ancient Greek Hestia.” ref
“The second type of household deities are those that are not one singular deity, but a type, or species of animistic deity, who usually have lesser powers than major deities. This type was common in the religions of antiquity, such as the Lares of ancient Roman religion, the Gashin of Korean shamanism, and Cofgodas of Anglo-Saxon paganism. These survived Christianisation as fairy-like creatures existing in folklore, such as the Anglo-Scottish Brownie and Slavic Domovoy.” ref
“Household deities were usually worshipped not in temples but in the home, where they would be represented by small idols (such as the teraphim of the Bible, often translated as “household gods” in Genesis 31:19 for example), amulets, paintings, or reliefs. They could also be found on domestic objects, such as cosmetic articles in the case of Tawaret. The more prosperous houses might have a small shrine to the household god(s); the lararium served this purpose in the case of the Romans. The gods would be treated as members of the family and invited to join in meals, or be given offerings of food and drink.” ref
“In many religions, both ancient and modern, a god would preside over the home. Certain species, or types, of household deities, existed. An example of this was the Roman Lares. Many European cultures retained house spirits into the modern period. Some examples of these include:
- Brownie (Scotland and England) or Hob (England) / Kobold (Germany) / Goblin / Hobgoblin
- Domovoy (Slavic)
- Nisse (Norwegian or Danish) / Tomte (Swedish) / Tonttu (Finnish)
- Húsvættir (Norse)” ref
“Although the cosmic status of household deities was not as lofty as that of the Twelve Olympians or the Aesir, they were also jealous of their dignity and also had to be appeased with shrines and offerings, however humble. Because of their immediacy they had arguably more influence on the day-to-day affairs of men than the remote gods did. Vestiges of their worship persisted long after Christianity and other major religions extirpated nearly every trace of the major pagan pantheons. Elements of the practice can be seen even today, with Christian accretions, where statues to various saints (such as St. Francis) protect gardens and grottos. Even the gargoyles found on older churches, could be viewed as guardians partitioning a sacred space.” ref
“For centuries, Christianity fought a mop-up war against these lingering minor pagan deities, but they proved tenacious. For example, Martin Luther‘s Tischreden have numerous – quite serious – references to dealing with kobolds. Eventually, rationalism and the Industrial Revolution threatened to erase most of these minor deities, until the advent of romantic nationalism rehabilitated them and embellished them into objects of literary curiosity in the 19th century. Since the 20th century this literature has been mined for characters for role-playing games, video games, and other fantasy personae, not infrequently invested with invented traits and hierarchies somewhat different from their mythological and folkloric roots.” ref
“In contradistinction to both Herbert Spencer and Edward Burnett Tylor, who defended theories of animistic origins of ancestor worship, Émile Durkheim saw its origin in totemism. In reality, this distinction is somewhat academic, since totemism may be regarded as a particularized manifestation of animism, and something of a synthesis of the two positions was attempted by Sigmund Freud. In Freud’s Totem and Taboo, both totem and taboo are outward expressions or manifestations of the same psychological tendency, a concept which is complementary to, or which rather reconciles, the apparent conflict. Freud preferred to emphasize the psychoanalytic implications of the reification of metaphysical forces, but with particular emphasis on its familial nature. This emphasis underscores, rather than weakens, the ancestral component.” ref
“William Edward Hearn, a noted classicist, and jurist, traced the origin of domestic deities from the earliest stages as an expression of animism, a belief system thought to have existed also in the neolithic, and the forerunner of Indo-European religion. In his analysis of the Indo-European household, in Chapter II “The House Spirit”, Section 1, he states:
The belief which guided the conduct of our forefathers was … the spirit rule of dead ancestors.” ref
“In Section 2 he proceeds to elaborate:
It is thus certain that the worship of deceased ancestors is a vera causa, and not a mere hypothesis. …
In the other European nations, the Slavs, the Teutons, and the Kelts, the House Spirit appears with no less distinctness. … [T]he existence of that worship does not admit of doubt. … The House Spirits had a multitude of other names which it is needless here to enumerate, but all of which are more or less expressive of their friendly relations with man. … In [England] … [h]e is the Brownie. … In Scotland this same Brownie is well known. He is usually described as attached to particular families, with whom he has been known to reside for centuries, threshing the corn, cleaning the house, and performing similar household tasks. His favorite gratification was milk and honey.” ref
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“These ideas are my speculations from the evidence.”
I am still researching the “god‘s origins” all over the world. So you know, it is very complicated but I am smart and willing to look, DEEP, if necessary, which going very deep does seem to be needed here, when trying to actually understand the evolution of gods and goddesses. I am sure of a few things and less sure of others, but even in stuff I am not fully grasping I still am slowly figuring it out, to explain it to others. But as I research more I am understanding things a little better, though I am still working on understanding it all or something close and thus always figuring out more.
Sky Father/Sky God?
“Egyptian: (Nut) Sky Mother and (Geb) Earth Father” (Egypt is different but similar)
Turkic/Mongolic: (Tengri/Tenger Etseg) Sky Father and (Eje/Gazar Eej) Earth Mother *Transeurasian*
Hawaiian: (Wākea) Sky Father and (Papahānaumoku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
New Zealand/ Māori: (Ranginui) Sky Father and (Papatūānuku) Earth Mother *Austronesian*
Proto-Indo-European: (Dyḗus/Dyḗus ph₂tḗr) Sky Father and (Dʰéǵʰōm/Pleth₂wih₁) Earth Mother
Indo-Aryan: (Dyaus Pita) Sky Father and (Prithvi Mata) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Italic: (Jupiter) Sky Father and (Juno) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Etruscan: (Tinia) Sky Father and (Uni) Sky Mother *Tyrsenian/Italy Pre–Indo-European*
Hellenic/Greek: (Zeus) Sky Father and (Hera) Sky Mother who started as an “Earth Goddess” *Indo-European*
Nordic: (Dagr) Sky Father and (Nótt) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Slavic: (Perun) Sky Father and (Mokosh) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Illyrian: (Deipaturos) Sky Father and (Messapic Damatura’s “earth-mother” maybe) Earth Mother *Indo-European*
Albanian: (Zojz) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Baltic: (Perkūnas) Sky Father and (Saulė) Sky Mother *Indo-European*
Germanic: (Týr) Sky Father and (?) *Indo-European*
Colombian-Muisca: (Bochica) Sky Father and (Huythaca) Sky Mother *Chibchan*
Aztec: (Quetzalcoatl) Sky Father and (Xochiquetzal) Sky Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Incan: (Viracocha) Sky Father and (Mama Runtucaya) Sky Mother *Quechuan*
China: (Tian/Shangdi) Sky Father and (Dì) Earth Mother *Sino-Tibetan*
Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian: (An/Anu) Sky Father and (Ki) Earth Mother
Finnish: (Ukko) Sky Father and (Akka) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Sami: (Horagalles) Sky Father and (Ravdna) Earth Mother *Finno-Ugric*
Puebloan-Zuni: (Ápoyan Ta’chu) Sky Father and (Áwitelin Tsíta) Earth Mother
Puebloan-Hopi: (Tawa) Sky Father and (Kokyangwuti/Spider Woman/Grandmother) Earth Mother *Uto-Aztecan*
Puebloan-Navajo: (Tsohanoai) Sky Father and (Estsanatlehi) Earth Mother *Na-Dene*
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Hinduism around 3,700 to 3,500 years old. ref
Judaism around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (The first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew” dated to around 3,000 years ago Khirbet Qeiyafa is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Elah Valley. And many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed around 2,500) ref, ref
Judaism is around 3,450 or 3,250 years old. (“Paleo-Hebrew” 3,000 years ago and Torah 2,500 years ago)
“Judaism is an Abrahamic, its roots as an organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Some scholars argue that modern Judaism evolved from Yahwism, the religion of ancient Israel and Judah, by the late 6th century BCE, and is thus considered to be one of the oldest monotheistic religions.” ref
“Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel, essentially polytheistic, with a plethora of gods and goddesses. Heading the pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, with his consort, the goddess Asherah; below them were second-tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees, and a third and fourth tier of minor divine beings, including the mal’ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Yahweh, however, was not the ‘original’ god of Israel “Isra-El”; it is El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon, whose name forms the basis of the name “Israel”, and none of the Old Testament patriarchs, the tribes of Israel, the Judges, or the earliest monarchs, have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., one incorporating the name of Yahweh).” ref
“El is a Northwest Semitic word meaning “god” or “deity“, or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ‘ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning “god”. Specific deities known as ‘El or ‘Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia’s Early Dynastic Period. ʼĒl is listed at the head of many pantheons. In some Canaanite and Ugaritic sources, ʼĒl played a role as father of the gods, of creation, or both. For example, in the Ugaritic texts, ʾil mlk is understood to mean “ʼĒl the King” but ʾil hd as “the god Hadad“. The Semitic root ʾlh (Arabic ʾilāh, Aramaic ʾAlāh, ʾElāh, Hebrew ʾelōah) may be ʾl with a parasitic h, and ʾl may be an abbreviated form of ʾlh. In Ugaritic the plural form meaning “gods” is ʾilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ʾelōhîm “powers”. In the Hebrew texts this word is interpreted as being semantically singular for “god” by biblical commentators. However the documentary hypothesis for the Old Testament (corresponds to the Jewish Torah) developed originally in the 1870s, identifies these that different authors – the Jahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and the Priestly source – were responsible for editing stories from a polytheistic religion into those of a monotheistic religion. Inconsistencies that arise between monotheism and polytheism in the texts are reflective of this hypothesis.” ref
Jainism around 2,599 – 2,527 years old. ref
Confucianism around 2,600 – 2,551 years old. ref
Buddhism around 2,563/2,480 – 2,483/2,400 years old. ref
Christianity around 2,o00 years old. ref
Shinto around 1,305 years old. ref
Islam around 1407–1385 years old. ref
Knowledge to Ponder:
Stars/Astrology:
- Possibly, around 30,000 years ago (in simpler form) to 6,000 years ago, Stars/Astrology are connected to Ancestors, Spirit Animals, and Deities.
- The star also seems to be a possible proto-star for Star of Ishtar, Star of Inanna, or Star of Venus.
- Around 7,000 to 6,000 years ago, Star Constellations/Astrology have connections to the “Kurgan phenomenon” of below-ground “mound” stone/wood burial structures and “Dolmen phenomenon” of above-ground stone burial structures.
- Around 6,500–5,800 years ago, The Northern Levant migrations into Jordon and Israel in the Southern Levant brought new cultural and religious transfer from Turkey and Iran.
- “The Ghassulian Star,” a mysterious 6,000-year-old mural from Jordan may have connections to the European paganstic kurgan/dolmens phenomenon.
“Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Different cultures have employed forms of astrology since at least the 2nd millennium BCE, these practices having originated in calendrical systems used to predict seasonal shifts and to interpret celestial cycles as signs of divine communications. Most, if not all, cultures have attached importance to what they observed in the sky, and some—such as the Hindus, Chinese, and the Maya—developed elaborate systems for predicting terrestrial events from celestial observations. Western astrology, one of the oldest astrological systems still in use, can trace its roots to 19th–17th century BCE Mesopotamia, from where it spread to Ancient Greece, Rome, the Islamicate world and eventually Central and Western Europe. Contemporary Western astrology is often associated with systems of horoscopes that purport to explain aspects of a person’s personality and predict significant events in their lives based on the positions of celestial objects; the majority of professional astrologers rely on such systems.” ref
Around 5,500 years ago, Science evolves, The first evidence of science was 5,500 years ago and was demonstrated by a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world. ref
Around 5,000 years ago, Origin of Logics is a Naturalistic Observation (principles of valid reasoning, inference, & demonstration) ref
Around 4,150 to 4,000 years ago: The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, which was originally titled “He who Saw the Deep” (Sha naqba īmuru) or “Surpassing All Other Kings” (Shūtur eli sharrī) were written. ref
Hinduism:
- 3,700 years ago or so, the oldest of the Hindu Vedas (scriptures), the Rig Veda was composed.
- 3,500 years ago or so, the Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Judaism:
- around 3,000 years ago, the first writing in the bible was “Paleo-Hebrew”
- around 2,500 years ago, many believe the religious Jewish texts were completed
Myths: The bible inspired religion is not just one religion or one myth but a grouping of several religions and myths
- Around 3,450 or 3,250 years ago, according to legend, is the traditionally accepted period in which the Israelite lawgiver, Moses, provided the Ten Commandments.
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, a collection of ancient religious writings by the Israelites based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament is the first part of Christianity’s bible.
- Around 2,400 years ago, the most accepted hypothesis is that the canon was formed in stages, first the Pentateuch (Torah).
- Around 2,140 to 2,116 years ago, the Prophets was written during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books.
- Christians traditionally divide the Old Testament into four sections:
- The first five books or Pentateuch (Torah).
- The proposed history books telling the history of the Israelites from their conquest of Canaan to their defeat and exile in Babylon.
- The poetic and proposed “Wisdom books” dealing, in various forms, with questions of good and evil in the world.
- The books of the biblical prophets, warning of the consequences of turning away from God:
- Henotheism:
- Exodus 20:23 “You shall not make other gods besides Me (not saying there are no other gods just not to worship them); gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves.”
- Polytheism:
- Judges 10:6 “Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.”
- 1 Corinthians 8:5 “For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords.”
- Monotheism:
- Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.
Around 2,570 to 2,270 Years Ago, there is a confirmation of atheistic doubting as well as atheistic thinking, mainly by Greek philosophers. However, doubting gods is likely as old as the invention of gods and should destroy the thinking that belief in god(s) is the “default belief”. The Greek word is apistos (a “not” and pistos “faithful,”), thus not faithful or faithless because one is unpersuaded and unconvinced by a god(s) claim. Short Definition: unbelieving, unbeliever, or unbelief.
Expressions of Atheistic Thinking:
- Around 2,600 years ago, Ajita Kesakambali, ancient Indian philosopher, who is the first known proponent of Indian materialism. ref
- Around 2,535 to 2,475 years ago, Heraclitus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor or modern Turkey. ref
- Around 2,500 to 2,400 years ago, according to The Story of Civilization book series certain African pygmy tribes have no identifiable gods, spirits, or religious beliefs or rituals, and even what burials accrue are without ceremony. ref
- Around 2,490 to 2,430 years ago, Empedocles, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. ref
- Around 2,460 to 2,370 years ago, Democritus, Greek pre-Socratic philosopher considered to be the “father of modern science” possibly had some disbelief amounting to atheism. ref
- Around 2,399 years ago or so, Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher was tried for sinfulness by teaching doubt of state gods. ref
- Around 2,341 to 2,270 years ago, Epicurus, a Greek philosopher known for composing atheistic critics and famously stated, “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him god?” ref
This last expression by Epicurus, seems to be an expression of Axiological Atheism. To understand and utilize value or actually possess “Value Conscious/Consciousness” to both give a strong moral “axiological” argument (the problem of evil) as well as use it to fortify humanism and positive ethical persuasion of human helping and care responsibilities. Because value-blindness gives rise to sociopathic/psychopathic evil.
While hallucinogens are associated with shamanism, it is alcohol that is associated with paganism.
The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:
Show two: Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show tree: Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show four: Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show five: Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”
Show six: Emergence of hierarchy, sexism, slavery, and the new male god dominance: Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves!
Prehistory: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” the division of labor, power, rights, and recourses: VIDEO
Pre-animism 300,000 years old and animism 100,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Totemism 50,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Shamanism 30,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism”: VIDEO
Paganism 12,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Pre-Capitalism): VIDEO
Paganism 7,000-5,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Capitalism) (World War 0) Elite and their slaves: VIEDO
Paganism 5,000 years old: progressed organized religion and the state: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (Kings and the Rise of the State): VIEDO
Paganism 4,000 years old: related to “Anarchism and Socialism” (First Moralistic gods, then the Origin time of Monotheism): VIEDO
I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.
The truth is best championed in the sunlight of challenge.
An archaeologist once said to me “Damien religion and culture are very different”
My response, So are you saying that was always that way, such as would you say Native Americans’ cultures are separate from their religions? And do you think it always was the way you believe?
I had said that religion was a cultural product. That is still how I see it and there are other archaeologists that think close to me as well. Gods too are the myths of cultures that did not understand science or the world around them, seeing magic/supernatural everywhere.
I personally think there is a goddess and not enough evidence to support a male god at Çatalhöyük but if there was both a male and female god and goddess then I know the kind of gods they were like Proto-Indo-European mythology.
This series idea was addressed in, Anarchist Teaching as Free Public Education or Free Education in the Public: VIDEO
Our 12 video series: Organized Oppression: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of power (9,000-4,000 years ago), is adapted from: The Complete and Concise History of the Sumerians and Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia (7000-2000 BC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szFjxmY7jQA by “History with Cy“
Show #1: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Samarra, Halaf, Ubaid)
Show #2: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #3: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Uruk and the First Cities)
Show #4: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (First Kings)
Show #5: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Early Dynastic Period)
Show #6: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power
Show #7: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Sargon and Akkadian Rule)
Show #9: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Gudea of Lagash and Utu-hegal)
Show #12: Mesopotamian State Force and the Politics of Power (Aftermath and Legacy of Sumer)
The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.
Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?
Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.
I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.
Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.
At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.
Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)
Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty
The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft
Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.
Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie
Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.
Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”
I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.
To me, the “male god” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 7,000 years ago, whereas the now favored monotheism “male god” is more like 4,000 years ago or so. To me, the “female goddess” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 11,000-10,000 years ago or so, losing the majority of its once prominence around 2,000 years ago due largely to the now favored monotheism “male god” that grow in prominence after 4,000 years ago or so.
My Thought on the Evolution of Gods?
Animal protector deities from old totems/spirit animal beliefs come first to me, 13,000/12,000 years ago, then women as deities 11,000/10,000 years ago, then male gods around 7,000/8,000 years ago. Moralistic gods around 5,000/4,000 years ago, and monotheistic gods around 4,000/3,000 years ago.
Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):
Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism
My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com