Ancient genomes favour a westward migration behind Celtic’s spread
A comparison of ancient genomes favours movement from eastern central Europe as the simplest demographic explanation for the spread of Celtic languages. The peer-reviewed study tests competing migration scenarios against Bronze and Iron Age evidence. Genetic ancestry traces those movements, while the possibility of language spreading without wholesale population replacement limits a direct equation between migration and language.
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Testing routes for Celtic
A peer-reviewed study of ancient genomes favours a westward migration from eastern central Europe as the simplest demographic explanation for the spread of Celtic languages. The researchers compare competing archaeological and linguistic models with population movements reconstructed from ancient DNA. Celtic languages, now concentrated along Europe’s Atlantic fringes, were spoken much more widely during the Iron Age. Genetic ancestry provides evidence about migration, while the language spoken by an individual remains beyond direct DNA measurement.[1], [2]
Three movements in the genomes
The analysis draws on genome-wide data from 4,587 ancient individuals, focusing on Bronze and Iron Age Europe. It distinguishes three major processes: Steppe-related ancestry spreading with groups associated with the Bell Beaker Complex, later movement from southwestern Europe into Britain, and a subsequent expansion from eastern central Europe towards the west. The final movement, about 3,200–2,800 years before present, affected France, the British Isles, northeastern Iberia and Italy. The authors judge it the best fit with the fewest additional assumptions.[1]
Ancestry and language follow different paths
The simplest migration scenario is not necessarily the path history followed. Language can spread without wholesale population replacement, and genetic relatives need not speak the same language. Sampling is also uneven: contexts associated with the Urnfield tradition, an archaeological culture in which cremation was common, leave particular gaps in the available genomes. The study therefore narrows demographic explanations for Celtic dispersal rather than assigning a language to each ancient genome.[1]
