Viking graves and DNA.

[_Fiannan]

BBC documentary on Vikings in the British Isles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkqPEeHx ... re=related

In the third hour of the documentary some researchers tried to use male DNA markers (Y chromosome) to determine how much Viking blood there is in the British Isles. They centered on the Norwegian DNA on the coasts and islands like Shetland, The weird thing is that even in areas the Vikings from Norway controlled, including Dublin, did not show high levels of DNA markers from Norway. The researchers were surprised and later point out that they may be missing a lot of information on DNA markers from Viking settlers.

That being said I remember taking a course in college on English history. The professor dealt with the Vikings and showed a map with ancient graveyard locations. There were graveyards all over England and Scotland so we can be sure the people contributed huge amounts of DNA to the local populations while they were alive.

In the documentary they make it clear that DNA research is incomplete in so many areas even though we have a good idea of what Norway's genetic markers look like. Then again, we cannot be sure which tribal/family units actually came over and settled and in what proportions.

I just wanted to share this as many on this board treat DNA as the great indicator of who came form where and when and who they were related to. This is not the case. I know someone who is adopted and was looking into getting a DNA test to show where his ancestors came from. He was disappointed when he was informed that both the maternal and paternal tests only show lines but can miss almost all your ancestor's ethnic origins unless one has some unique marker like the "Cohen gene" which some, certainly not most, Jews have. And even then you could find Cohen genes in thousands of people in Zimbabwe (Jews built the ancient circular walled cities there) these people today show no trace of Jewish phenotypes. They look like surrounding African tribes that the colonizers intermarried with.

So if we knew what the DNA markers were for all the tribes of ancient Israel we might, just might, have a slight chance of finding a marker for the tribe Lehi came from but we have no clue. And that is just one variable that makes skeptics of the Book of Mormon who use DNA like the ultimate nail-in-the-coffin of Mormonism unconvincing in their arguments.

[_lulu]

did not show high levels of DNA markers from Norway.

But they showed some markers. See the difference?

[_DarkHelmet]

The complete lack of DNA evidence is just one item in a pile of evidence against the Book of Mormon. Before any DNA studies, the evidence supported an Asian migration. The DNA evidence simply fits in perfectly with what all the previous scientific evidence already showed. None of it supports the Book of Mormon.

[_son of Ishmael]

The lack of ancient Israeli DNA forces apologist away from the idea that the Americas was uninhabited when the Lehites presumably arrived. It also led them to the limited geography theory.

The next thing we will hear is that part of the Lamanite curse was the changing of their DNA. God is tricky that way.

[_Fiannan]

Why would Alma make such a big deal of bieing a direct descendant of Lehi if all Nephites and Lamanies shared the same origins?

[_Bret Ripley]

The next thing we will hear is that part of the Lamanite curse was the changing of their DNA. God is tricky that way.

Ahem: "When God curses a people, their DNA is changed, fool." Art Bulla, March 17, 2006, on alt.religion.Mormon.

[_Darth J]

Why would Alma make such a big deal of bieing a direct descendant of Lehi if all Nephites and Lamanies shared the same origins?

Because some of the people in Lehi's party were relatives of Ishmael. The Book of Mormon accounts for people who came to America from Jerusalem circa 600 B.C.E., but were not part of Lehi's parentage.

See also: Mulekites.

There are no people mentioned in the Book of Mormon who did not come from Jerusalem, except the Jaredites, who were extinct except for one person by the time Lehi's party arrived.

[_son of Ishmael]

The next thing we will hear is that part of the Lamanite curse was the changing of their DNA. God is tricky that way.

Ahem: "When God curses a people, their DNA is changed, fool." Art Bulla, March 17, 2006, on alt.religion.Mormon.

Wow. I was just making that up. I didn't think someone would really say that....

[_karl61]

Please read relics of eden by former BYU professor daniel fairbanks. It will help you understand DNA and migration.

[_Equality]

Please read relics of eden by former BYU professor daniel fairbanks. It will help you understand DNA and migration.

Care to summarize Fairbanks' argument for us?