Dienekes' K7b calculator : my results

I'll just stick to Dienekes' K7b analysis. I have recently contacted a girl from my home Béarn who happens to have been tested on 23andme : she originates from villages close to modern Basque lands, in the valley of the Saison river in Western Béarn whereas my ancestry mostly lies in Vic-Bilh and Montanérès, an area in closer contact with both Central Gascony (thus the Garonne valley) and the Iberian peninsula (Aragon for instance).

In red : her ancestry
In green : my ancestry's centre of gravity

In order to respect her privacy, I won't divulgate her alias in Dienekes' analysis but she might very well comment on this blog as she's an active reader.

Me / Her

South Asian 0.7 / 0
West Asian 2.9 / 0.9
Siberian 0 / 0
African 0 / 0
Southern 26 / 28.1
Atlantic/Baltic 70.5 / 71
East Asian 0 / 0

She's clearly less influenced by "Asian" admixture (read : Neolithic) than I am (0.9% against my global 3.6% !) which is pretty consistent with the fact that she originates from a "remote" area which borders modern Basque lands (and which was still Basque-speaking in 1385 as far as medieval charts are concerned).

On the following chart, I'm #1 and she's #13. In comparison with mainstream French people tested by Dienekes, we're noted for a less than average West Asian affinity. Amongst French Basque people, West Asian affinity is virtually absent. It is pretty fair to guess that West Asian "admixture" in Gascony declines as one gets nearer to Basque lands.

It is pretty obvious that 2 individuals are not enough to have a clear vision of genetic diversity in ancient Vasconian lands : I might very well be "high" or "low" on West Asian admixture for my micro-region, I cannot truly say. We'd need more samples and then studies centred on SW France. In other studies, my Basque lineage was evident though I also had strong affinities with Aragon and Catalonia : something is going on in the Central Pyrenees, either because this area was more opened to subsequent migrations through the Ebro and the Garonne highways, or because ancient Vasconian lands has developed interval variation in ancient times.

Durango : Basque Country (Spain)

The area of Durango - dubbed Duranguesado in Spanish and Durangaldea in Basque - is part of the province of Biscay : it has been continuously inhabited by men since Upper Paleolithic times as proved for instance by the "cueva de Bolinkoba" (Abadiño).

• Sample :

Full scale

• Brief anthropological analysis :

- Type 1 : Dark, leptomorphic, long and triangular head, long and straight nose, close-set eyes, full eyebrows, pointy chin and large jaw
~ (Dinaromorphic) Atlanto-Mediterranean



Those phenotypes are quite representative of an average Basque type which can be found throughout Basque lands.

Variants of this type are somehow more interesting to my SW French eyes : not that impressive leptomorphism, grey eyes, chestnut hair, angular features, ... I've yet to fully know whether or not this type is that abundant in French Basque lands but for sure, those people are what I associate with being Basque-looking, not as in "stereotypically looking" but as in "these types are not to be found amongst neighbouring populations". Notice that such types were completely absent in Rioja Alavesa.





- Type 2 : Intermediate complexion, brachymorphic, large face, square-box head head, little and straight nose, rather distanced eyes, little eyelids, large jaw
~ Alpinoid




Brachymorphic types are rare as expected for a Basque sample. It is mostly a female thing BTW. Still those people look rather Basque as opposed to Alpinoid types of non-Basque parts of Iberia : pseudo-mongoloid features can be found now and then for instance. These people seem to be rather light-featured as well.

• Final morphotypes :

fastIBD analysis of Iberia, France, Italy, Balkans, Anatolia and European Jews

Here's an interesting study by Dienekes :

fastIBD analysis of Iberia, France, Italy, Balkans, Anatolia and European Jews

The inter-population IBD study is rather interesting IMO as it clearly defines patterns in SW Europe even though I don't get everything to be honest : Heatmap. Interestingly enough, the French Basques seem to share more with Aragonese people than with fellow Spanish Basque people, which is pretty relative though but it might hint to a structure within "Vasconian" lands which has yet to be properly analyzed.

My own results : DOD133

French Basque : 4.93

Pais_Vasco_1KG : 1.84

Aragon : 1.66

Murcia : 0.93

Cantabria : 0.71

Castilla la Mancha : 0.63

Valencia : 0.53

Cataluña : 0.34

French : 0.09

Galicia : -0.05

Rioja Alavesa : Basque Country (Spain)

The area named "Rioja Alavesa" possesses clear limits : in the North, the Sierra de Toloño cuts the area from the rest of Álava and the Ebro river divides it from Rioja. Nevertheless, rivers never were borders and the whole basin of the Ebro river in this very vicinity shares a common ethno-cultural past which might date back from Neolithic times and was consolidated by Roman rule. In that respect, the Basque language was probably wiped out very early in History, Basque placenames are sparse if not non-existent, ...

• Sample :

Full scale

• Brief anthropological analysis :

- Type 1 : Dark, leptomorphic, long and triangular head, long and straight nose, close-set eyes, full eyebrows, pointy chin and large jaw
~ (Dinaromorphic) Atlanto-Mediterranean




Unsurprisingly enough, not that many people approach "ideal" Basque types as one can define them stereotypically wise (see previous samples in proper Basque-speaking lands) though now and then, some individuals are not that dissimilar. Eventually, in my opinion, the Ebro valley clearly is transitional towards "Castillian" types even though parts of Rioja may look more "Basque" than Rioja Alavesa as far as my samples are concerned. I stick to the model that the Ebro was a highway in ancient times through which new ways of life and people communicated and which may have cut ancient Vasconian lands from each other.

Let's notice a somehow interesting sexual dimorphism already found in Rioja with women being more impressive than their male counterparts (more elongated on average which reflects pretty much on the morphotype).


- Type 2 : Intermediate complexion, brachymorphic, large face, square-box head head, little and straight nose, rather distanced eyes, little eyelids, large jaw
~ Alpinoid





These types clearly show affinities with Alpinoid types already identified in previously sampled areas in the Ebro valley such as Rioja or Tarazona in Aragon. No Basque affinity whatsoever as far as I am concerned.

• Final morphotypes :

Valencia de Alcántara : Extremadura (Spain)

The area of Valencia de Alcántara - which used to belong to the Lusitanians - is known for its high concentration of dolmens built in Neolithic times.

• Sample :

Full scale

• Brief anthropological analysis :

- Type 1 : Dark, leptomorphic, long and triangular head, long and straight nose, close-set eyes, full eyebrows, pointy chin and large jaw
~ (Dinaromorphic) Atlanto-Mediterranean




Those people belong to a classical pan-Iberian type even though one has to notice that they exhibit very angular traits. This type could funnily be labelled "conquistador-like". Still, within Mediterranean metrics, one can find individuals showing "puffier" features (nose, lips, ...) : these people are somehow Portuguese-looking.





- Type 2 : Intermediate complexion, brachymorphic, large face, square-box head head, little and straight nose, rather distanced eyes, little eyelids, large jaw
~ Alpinoid




Such types are widespread throughout the whole peninsula. I cannot say these individuals exhibit features that I would associate with Portugal but wide-spaced sloping eyes are rather common in West Iberia. To end with that panorama of the various faces in this corner of Extremadura, let's notice a square-shaped brachymorphic type yet exhibiting decisive angular traits that were already analyzed on lepto types in the first part.

• Final morphotypes :

Solsona : Catalonia (Spain)

A pre-Pyrenean Catalan comarca, Solsonès (capital : Solsona) probably was inhabited either by the Lacetani (who gave their name to Catalonia : Lacetania got to be deformed as Catalonia) or the Bergistani, both Iberian tribes.

Solsonès within Catalonia

• Sample :

Full scale

• Brief anthropological analysis :

- Type 1 : Dark, leptomorphic, long and triangular head, long and straight nose, close-set eyes, full eyebrows, pointy chin and large jaw
~ (Dinaromorphic) Atlanto-Mediterranean




Those people belong to a common Catalan type already identified in French Catalonia or in neighbouring Aragon : let's notice some ethnic secondary features such as thick eyebrows, somehow distant eyes, strong jaw, ...


- Type 2 : Intermediate complexion, brachymorphic, large face, square-box head head, little and straight nose, rather distanced eyes, little eyelids, large jaw
~ Alpinoid




As expected, people not belonging to Type 1 rather show Alpinoid puffy features already identified in this area.

• Final morphotypes :

Valle de Campoo : Cantabria (Spain)

Traditionally, the whole area - formerly known as the Merindad de Aguilar de Campoo - encompassed lands now in modern Palencia and it had been this way since ancient times. It is likely that here was situated the Roman town of Iuliobriga, a Roman colonial creation the name of which is related to Flaviobriga (to emperors' names, Celtic "briga" was added) and the ruins of which can be found not far from Reinosa. The Valley of Campoo is where the Ebro river's source can be found.

Cantabrian lands in Roman times

• Sample :

Full scale

• Brief anthropological analysis :

- Type 1 : Intermediate complexion (from blonde to dark hair, black/grey eyes, rather pale skin on average, ...), leptomorphic, long face (particularly on males), straight or convex nose rather parallel to the face, rather close-set eyes, pointy chin, large jaw
~ (Dinaricized) Atlanto-Mediterranean




Are they really Atlanto-Med ? Nordoid ? Atlantid ? Eventually, I don't really care about terminology : what matters is that these people are all more or less leptomorphic (women being considerably larger-faced) and share common features such as blue eyes, a rather protuding and convex nose, ... This type was already identified in the Valley of Pas.

A little note about my beliefs (it's important after months of stand-by and me not answering to some comments made) : the way I sort people out is pretty straightforward. On one hand, lepto people, on the other hand, brachy ones with transitional people being lumped into one category or another. I firmly believe that what matters most are secondary features such as the distribution of nose shape. To sum up, my goal is to find common family traits between neighbouring populations to infer whether or not they may be closely related.

In this peculiar case, there's only one question : do these Cantabrian people look like Basque people ? My personal feeling is "somehow" but still within a distinct variation. Do they look Asturian on average ? I cannot say for sure, but the average lack of dark brachy Asturo-Galician types clearly hints to another genetic landscape (see my Asturian samples for an illustration or check morphotypes which are good averages).



- Type 2 : Dark complexion (dark hair, black eyes, ...), more or less brachymorphic, reduced and "puffy" features, in some cases high-headed, rather little nose (on males at least), strong jaw, close-set eyes
~ Alpino-Mediterranean




This is an usual Iberian type quite widespread in the North of the peninsula. More interestingly maybe, one can find individuals who show the same "reduced" and puffy features yet appear to be elongated variants of the previous individuals (you've got a good example of me hesitating where to put these "transitional" people who are only transitional as I define "ideal" types which are not). Notice the jaw shape.

• Final morphotypes :