Ancestral Journeys

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Ancestral Journeys by Jean Manco


A guide to “deep history.”

This is an interesting and frequently dense book. The author, Jean Manco, surveys the “peopling” of Europe from the Paleolithic (40,000 years ago) to the time of the Vikings. The sources she uses largely involves genetic, archaeological and linguistic evidence to describe the layers of migration that she finds in this deep history.

I found the discussions of genetic evidence to be dry and dense. Although I got an A+ in upper division genetics at UC Davis nearly forty years ago, this discussion was over my head or not worth taking the time to absorb. I essentially skimmed the high points and took Manco's word that the evidence established what she said it established. Likewise, the discussion of archaeological evidence could get become an involved discussion about pots and similar artifacts.

I found the linguistic discussions to be of the most interest. I was captivated by the idea of Indo-European languages breaking out of their homeland north of the Black Sea and heading west to become the Proto-Celtic/Italic languages, followed by the proto-Germanic in the Jutland area, followed by the proto-Slavic from the Pripet Marshes, while another group headed southwest to become the Iranian speakers. This model coordinates with the evidence from genetics and archaeology as Manco explains.

The book is filled with too many revelations, or claims, to easily list. Here are a few:

Manco seems to question the idea that Neanderthals were incorporated into the European population. Manco attributes Neanderthal genes to common ancestry rather than hybridization. Manco also suggests that Neanderthal DNA indicates a substantial difference between the Neanderthal and human brain that throws into doubt the Neanderthal's capacity for human behavior. Among such behaviors, it seems is language. This is a marked reversal from a lot of recent stuff that I've read that argues that these differences were inconsequential and that interbreeding is undeniable.

Manco also rejects the “no immigration” worldview that has been ascendant for the last 50 years. She believes the evidence points to immigration rather than exclusively through cultural diffusion. She points out a number of occasions where there could have been population replacement simply because parts of Europe were depopulated by climate change or plague. For example, the Slavs move into the Balkans was preceded by the Justinian plague that eliminated 30 to 40% of the European population in a situation that is startling similar to what happened to the American Indian population in the 17th and 18th centuries.

I was surprised by how many innovations originated with the proto-Indo-European (“PIE”) (aka the “Yamnaya Cultural Horizon”) populations. Manco scores dairy farming, iron working, the development of wagons, and the development of chariots as PIE inventions, which may explain why PIE was so successful in moving both east and west from its small homeland. It also makes some sense of the fanciful claim of the Nazis about the “Aryans” being “culture creators,” if that's what they were talking about, albeit PIE was a language group, not a racial group. Still, it would be interesting to find out why this one small group had so many innovations. Perhaps, it was simply a matter of taking a lead and keeping it?

Another surprise was that Manco discounts the romantic notion that the Basques are survivors of the original non-Indo-European language family that originally settled Europe. Basque is not an Indo-European (“IE”) language, but it isn't archaic, which leaves a mystery as to where it came from. Likewise, the Etruscans and the language of the Iberes, which was spoken along the coast of what is now France, were not IE but where they came from or what languages they represent is unknown.

The Bulgarians were originally a Turkic speaking people who took over a portion of the Slav-speaking Balkans, and become a Slavic speaking people. On the other hand, the Magyars took over modern Hungary and transformed the population into a Magyar-speaking nation.

The book is well-organized. It is probably better appreciated by readers with a substantial background in linguistic history and the relevant history. For those with knowledge of history, this is a rewarding book in that it uses science to confirm or explore history, sometimes reaching surprising - albeit controversial - conclusions.

PSB