JEWISH ORIGINS

RESEARCH BY LUCY WARNER
MARCH 8, 2016

I’ve been totally hooked on the subject of prehistoric remains and people since I discovered a picture and article on Stonehenge in the encyclopedia set which we had at home. Zooming backward through time is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I have also been interested in the Jewish people. I don’t believe that the Bible is actually the recorded word of God, but a series of folk tales handed down generation to generation, and containing real snippets of information along with stirring tales and hero stories.

The Bible is like the Odyssey. It is not merely a collection of folk literature which was memorized and retold down the line, it is ancient. Modern scholars know that there are elements in it from other ancient sources, such as the stories surrounding Gilgamesh. It is believed that the Biblical story of the great flood was borrowed at least in part from that set of stories.

There is archaeological evidence that the character Gilgamesh probably did exist, rather than being imagined for the entertainment of the people of the time. I personally believe that all ancient references of that kind probably contain at least a nugget of history, as it was perceived in the time period. Just because we can’t prove the correctness of every detail doesn’t devalue that basic cultural worth.

Recounting the history and especially the ancestry of families is a firmly implanted part of human psychology since we developed verbal languages, music, dancing, religious beliefs and ceremonies, holy places, and more. Who are we and where are we from, we ask. Our fascinating ancient sites such as Stonehenge, Avebury and other megalithic monuments are probably “holy places.” Such information should continue to be treasured. Our modern archaeology often corroborates the ancient “truth” of our earliest times, rather than destroying it.

While I am most enamored of ancient ruins, the modern DNA studies as shown below answer some of the basic questions that archaeologists could only consider in the light of very fragmentary physical evidence and the very few available written accounts. From this Wikipedia DNA article on the earliest Jewish origins comes a modern corroboration of an exciting kind. DNA articles tend to have a good deal of technical terms, but most here is readable without much difficulty. That’s the beauty of most Wikipedia articles, and when I want to explain or fact-check I just take the term or fact to Google and usually find more on the subject, including official scientific journals.

It’s probably that you’ve all heard of Gilgamesh, but if you are like me you haven’t read much about him. Here is a brief introduction.

Excerpt from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgamesh

“Gilgamesh (/ˈɡɪl.ɡə.mɛʃ/; Gilgameš, originally Bilgamesh) is the main character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an Akkadian poem that is considered the first great work of literature,[1] and in earlier Sumerian poems. In the epic, Gilgamesh is a demigod of superhuman strength who builds the city walls of Uruk to defend his people and travels to meet the sage Utnapishtim, who survived the Great Flood.

Gilgamesh is generally seen by scholars as a historical figure, since inscriptions have been found which confirm the existence of other figures associated with him in the epic. If Gilgamesh existed, he probably was a king who reigned sometime between 2800 and 2500 BC.[2] The Sumerian King List claims that Gilgamesh ruled the city of Uruk for 126 years. According to the Tummal Inscription,[3] Gilgamesh and his son Urlugal rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of Nippur.




ON JEWISH DNA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_studies_of_Jewish_origins

Genetic studies of Jewish origins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“The neutrality of this article's introduction is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (February 2016)


Genetic studies on the Jews are part of population genetics. This discipline is used to better understand the chronology of migration and thus complements the results provided by history, archeology, language or paleontology. The interest of these studies is to investigate the origins of various Jewish populations today. In particular, they investigate whether there is a common genetic heritage among various Jewish populations.

Since the 1970s, many studies have attempted to determine whether common ancestors existed to the present Jewish communities or if the descendants are related instead to the non-Jewish populations where they lived.

The earlier studies tried to answer this question using "classic" genetic markers (blood groups, enzymes, etc.).[1] Contradictory answers were given according to the loci used.[2] One explanation for these contradictions is that the variations associated with a locus are influenced by natural selection.[2] Since the late 1980s and especially since the beginning of the twenty-first century, geneticists have worked on analysis of the Y chromosome (transmitted from father to son), or mitochondrial DNA (transmitted from mother to child), which have the characteristic to be transmitted in full (without recombination). It is possible to trace the common direct-line ancestral populations of various peoples of the world.

Recent studies have been conducted on a large number of genes homologous chromosomes or autosomes (all chromosomes except chromosomes X and Y). A 2009 study was able to genetically identify individuals with full or partial Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.[3] In August 2012, Dr. Harry Ostrer in his book Legacy: A Genetic History of the Jewish People, summarized his and other work in genetics of the last 20 years, and concluded that all major Jewish groups share a common Middle Eastern origin. Ostrer also claimed to have refuted any large-scale genetic contribution from the Turkic Khazars.[4] Citing Autosomal DNA studies, Nicholas Wade estimates that "Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews have roughly 30 percent European ancestry, with most of the rest from the Middle East." He further noticed that "The two communities seem very similar to each other genetically, which is unexpected because they have been separated for so long." Concerning this relationship he points to Atzmon's conclusions that "the shared genetic elements suggest that members of any Jewish community are related to one another as closely as are fourth or fifth cousins in a large population, which is about 10 times higher than the relationship between two people chosen at random off the streets of New York City"[5] Concerning North African Jews, Autosomal genetic analysis in 2012 revealed that North African Jews are genetically close to European Jews. This finding "shows that North African Jews date to biblical-era Israel, and are not largely the descendants of natives who converted to Judaism,"[6] Y DNA studies examine various paternal lineages of modern Jewish populations. Such studies tend to imply a small number of founders in an old population whose members parted and followed different migration paths.[2] In most Jewish populations, these male line ancestors appear to have been mainly Middle Eastern. For example, Ashkenazi Jews share more common paternal lineages with other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than with non-Jewish populations in areas where Jews lived in Eastern Europe, Germany and the French Rhine Valley. This is consistent with Jewish traditions in placing most Jewish paternal origins in the region of the Middle East.[7][8]

A study conducted in 2013 found no evidence of a Khazar origin for Ashkenazi Jews and suggested that "Ashkenazi Jews share the greatest genetic ancestry with other Jewish populations, and among non-Jewish populations, with groups from Europe and the Middle East. No particular similarity of Ashkenazi Jews with populations from the Caucasus is evident, particularly with the populations that most closely represent the Khazar region. Thus, analysis of Ashkenazi Jews together with a large sample from the region of the Khazar Khaganate corroborates the earlier results that Ashkenazi Jews derive their ancestry primarily from populations of the Middle East and Europe, that they possess considerable shared ancestry with other Jewish populations, and that there is no indication of a significant genetic contribution either from within or from north of the Caucasus region."[9]

The maternal lineages of Jewish populations, studied by looking at mitochondrial DNA, are generally more heterogeneous.[10] Scholars such as Harry Ostrer and Raphael Falk believe this indicates that many Jewish males found new mates from European and other communities in the places where they migrated in the diaspora after fleeing ancient Israel.[11] Behar et al. in 2008 published evidence suggesting that about 40% of Ashkenazi Jews originate maternally from just four female founders, who were of Middle Eastern origin, while the populations of Sephardi and Mizrahi Jewish communities "showed no evidence for a narrow founder effect".[10] Evidence for female founders has been observed in other Jewish populations. With the exception of Ethiopian and Indian Jews, it has been argued that all of the Jewish populations have mitochondrial genomes that were of Middle Eastern origin.[12][13] In 2013, Richards et al. to the contrary published work suggesting that an estimated "80 percent of Ashkenazi maternal ancestry comes from women indigenous to Europe, and 8 percent from the Near East, with the rest uncertain",[14] suggesting that Jewish males migrated to Europe and took new wives from the local population, and converted them to Judaism. However, another study by Eva Fernandez et al. published in 2014 which studied the DNA of the Neolithic period and its modern descendants suggested that Ashkenazi Jews maternally originated in the Ancient Near East, contrary to the suggestion of Richards at al (2013).[15]

Studies of autosomal DNA, which look at the entire DNA mixture, have become increasingly important as the technology develops. They show that Jewish populations have tended to form relatively closely related groups in independent communities, with most in a community sharing significant ancestry in common.[16] For Jewish populations of the diaspora, the genetic composition of Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Mizrahi Jewish populations show a predominant amount of shared Middle Eastern ancestry. According to Behar, the most parsimonious explanation for this shared Middle Eastern ancestry is that it is "consistent with the historical formulation of the Jewish people as descending from ancient Hebrew and Israelite residents of the Levant" and "the dispersion of the people of ancient Israel throughout the Old World".[17] North African, Italian and others of Iberian origin show variable frequencies of admixture with non-Jewish historical host populations among the maternal lines. In the case of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews (in particular Moroccan Jews), who are apparently closely related, the non-Jewish component is mainly southern European.[18] The studies show that the Bene Israel and Black Cochin Jews of India, Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and a portion of the Lemba people of southern Africa, while more closely resembling the local populations of their native countries, have some ancient Jewish descent.[13][19][20][21]

Paternal lineage, Y chromosome[edit]

In 1992 G. Lucotte and F. David were the first genetic researchers to have documented a common paternal genetic heritage between Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews.[22][23] In 1993, A. S. Santachiara Benerecetti, et al. suggested the Middle Eastern origin of Jewish paternal lineages.[24]

In 2000, M. Hammer, et al. conducted a study on 1371 men and definitively established that part of the paternal gene pool of Jewish communities in Europe, North Africa and Middle East came from a common Middle East ancestral population. They suggested that most Jewish communities in the Diaspora remained relatively isolated and endogamous compared to non-Jewish neighbor populations.[2][13][25]

In a study of Israeli and Palestinian Muslim Arabs, more than 70% of the Jewish men and 82% of the Arab men whose DNA was studied, had inherited their Y chromosomes from the same paternal ancestors, who lived in the region within the last few thousand years. "Our recent study of high-resolution microsatellite haplotypes demonstrated that a substantial portion of Y chromosomes of Jews (70%) and of Palestinian Muslim Arabs (82%) belonged to the same chromosome pool."[26] In relation to the region of the Fertile Crescent, the same study noted; "In comparison with data available from other relevant populations in the region, Jews were found to be more closely related to groups in the north of the Fertile Crescent (Kurds, Turks, and Armenians) than to their Arab neighbors."[27] Approximately 35% to 43% of Jewish men are in the paternal line known as haplogroup J[Note 1] and its sub-haplogroups. This Haplogroup is particularly present in the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Northern Africa.[28] Fifteen to 30% are in haplogroup E1b1b[Note 2], (or E-M35) and its sub-haplogroups.

Y-DNA of Ashkenazi Jews[edit]

The term "Ashkenazi" is relatively well defined in these studies; it refers to Jews living or whose "paternal" ancestors immigrated to the following parts of central and eastern Europe: the Rhine Valley, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. This excludes the Jews of southern Europe (Balkans, Iberia and Italy). Non Jews in the latter areas are outside the definitions used for estimating the genetic make-up of the ancestral "neighbor" or "host" populations of Ashkenazim.

A study of haplotypes of the Y chromosome, published in 2000, addressed the paternal origins of Ashkenazi Jews. Hammer et al.[30] concluded that the Y chromosome of most Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews contained mutations that are also common among Middle Eastern peoples, but uncommon in the general European population. This suggested that the male ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews could be traced mostly to the Middle East. The proportion of male genetic admixture in Ashkenazi Jews amounts to less than 0.5% per generation over an estimated 80 generations, with "relatively minor contribution of European Y chromosomes to the Ashkenazim," and a total admixture estimate "very similar to Motulsky's average estimate of 12.5%." However, when all haplotypes were included in the analysis, the admixture percentage increased to 23% ± 7%.[Note 3] Hammer et al. add that "Diaspora Jews from Europe, Northwest Africa, and the Near East resemble each other more closely than they resemble their non-Jewish neighbors." In addition, the authors have found that the "Jewish cluster was interspersed with the Palestinian and Syrian populations, whereas the other Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations (Saudi Arabians, Lebanese, and Druze) closely surrounded it. Of the Jewish populations in this cluster, the Ashkenazim were closest to South European populations (specifically the Greeks) and also to the Turks."

The frequency of haplogroup R1b in the Ashkenazim population is similar to the frequency of R1b in Middle Eastern populations. Given that haplogroup R1b is particularly abundant in populations of Western Europe, studies of Nebel et al. (2001) and Behar et al. (2004)[31] suggest some Western European contribution to those ~10% of R1b found among Ashkenazim. The Behar et al. large 2004 study of Ashkenazi Jews records a percentage of 5% - 8% European contribution to the Ashkenazi gene pool.[Note 4] In the words of Behar:

“Because haplogroups R-M17 (R1a) and R-P25 (R1b) are present in non-Ashkenazi Jewish populations (e.g., at 4% and 10%, respectively) and in non-Jewish Near Eastern populations (e.g., at 7% and 11%, respectively; Hammer et al. 2000; Nebel et al. 2001), it is likely that they were also present at low frequency in the AJ (Ashkenazi Jewish) founding population. The admixture analysis shown in Table 6 suggests that 5%–8% of the Ashkenazi gene pool is, indeed, comprised of Y chromosomes that may have introgressed from non-Jewish European populations.”

For G. Lucotte et al.,[32] the R1b frequency is about 11%.[Note 5] In 2004, When the calculation is made excluding Jews from Netherlands the R1b rate is 5% ± 11.6%.[31]

Two studies by Nebel et al. in 2001 and 2005, based on Y chromosome polymorphic markers, suggested that Ashkenazi Jews are more closely related to other Jewish and Middle Eastern groups than to their host populations in Europe (defined in the using Eastern European, German, and French Rhine Valley populations). Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Kurdish Jews were all very closely related to the populations of the Fertile Crescent, even closer than to Arabs. The study speculated that the ancestors of the Arab populations of the Levant might have diverged due to mixing with migrants from the Arabian Peninsula.[33] However, 11.5% of male Ashkenazim were found to belong to R1a1a (R-M17), the dominant Y chromosome haplogroup in Eastern European populations. They hypothesized that these chromosomes could reflect low-level gene flow from surrounding Eastern European populations, or, alternatively, that both the Ashkenazi Jews with R1a1a (R-M17), and to a much greater extent Eastern European populations in general, might partly be descendants of Khazars. They concluded "However, if the R1a1a (R-M17) chromosomes in Ashkenazi Jews do indeed represent the vestiges of the mysterious Khazars then, according to our data, this contribution was limited to either a single founder or a few closely related men, and does not exceed ~12% of the present-day Ashkenazim.".[7][34] This hypothesis is also supported by the D. Goldstein in his book Jacob's legacy: A genetic view of Jewish history.[35] However, Faerman (2008) states that "External low-level gene flow of possible Eastern European origin has been shown in Ashkenazim but no evidence of a hypothetical Khazars' contribution to the Ashkenazi gene pool has ever been found.".[36]

Furthermore, 7%[31][37] of Ashkenazi have the haplogroup G2c, Behar et al. suggest that those haplogroups are minor Ashkenazi Jews founding lineages.[31]

A 2003 study of the Y chromosomes of Ashkenazi Levites, a priestly class who comprise 4% of Ashkenazi Jews, found that the haplogroup R1a1a (R-M17), which is uncommon in the Middle East or among Sephardic Jews but dominant in Eastern Europe, is present in about 50% of Ashkenazi Levites, while the rest of the Ashkenazi Levites' paternal lineage is of apparent Middle Eastern origin. The study also found this haplogroup to be present in 1.7% of Ashkenazi Cohanim.[38]

Among Ashkenazi Jews, Jews of Netherlands seem to have a particular haplogroups distribution since nearly one quarter of them have the Haplogroup R1b1 (R-P25), in particular sub-haplogroup R1b1b2 (R-M269), which is characteristic of Western European populations.[31]

Ashkenazi men show low Y-DNA diversity within each major haplogroup, meaning that compared to the size of the modern population, it seems there were once a relatively small number of men having children. This possibly results from a series of founder events and high rates of endogamy within Europe. Despite Ashkenazi Jews representing a recently founded population in Europe, founding effects suggest that they probably derived from a large and diverse ancestral source population in the Middle East, who may have been larger than the source population from which the indigenous Europeans derived.[31]

Y-DNA of Sephardi Jews

The term "Sephardi" refers to significantly different populations from one study to another. It can have a very restrictive meaning and only referring to people speaking Judeo-Spanish (excluding Moroccan Jews) or at the opposite the term Sephardi may designate all non-Ashkenazi populations (excluding Jews from Ethiopia, Yemen and the Kurdish Jews). Between these two extremes, all kinds of variations exist.

Investigations made by Nebel et al.[7] on the genetic relationships among Ashkenazi Jews, Kurdish and Sephardi (North Africa, Turkey, Iberian Peninsula, Iraq and Syria) indicate that Jews are more genetically similar to groups in northern Fertile Crescent (Kurds, Turks and Armenians) than to Arabs. Considering the timing of this origin, the study found that "the common genetic Middle Eastern background (of Jewish populations ) predates the ethnogenesis in the region and concludes that the Y chromosome pool of Jews is an integral part of the genetic landscape of Middle East.[7] . . . .

Y-DNA of Roman Jews[edit]
Hammer et al.[2] maintained that the paternal lines of Jews from Rome were close to those of Ashkenazi Jews. They also claim that these mostly originated from the Middle East.

Y-DNA of Kurdish Jews[edit]
In the article by Nebel et al.[7] the authors show that Kurdish and Sephardi Jews have indistinguishable paternal genetic heritage. The study shows that mixtures between Kurdish Jews and their Muslim hosts are negligible and that Kurdish Jews are closer to other Jewish groups than to their long term host population. Mr. Hammer[2] had already shown the strong correlation between the genetic heritage of Jews from North Africa with Kurdish Jews. . . . .

Y-DNA of Mountain Jews[edit]
A 2002 study by geneticist Dror Rosengarten found that the paternal haplotypes of Mountain Jews "were shared with other Jewish communities and were consistent with a Mediterranean origin." [45]

Y-DNA of Jews from Ethiopia[edit]
A study of [46] Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East.

Y-DNA of Mountain Jews[edit]
A 2002 study by geneticist Dror Rosengarten found that the paternal haplotypes of Mountain Jews "were shared with other Jewish communities and were consistent with a Mediterranean origin." [45]

Y-DNA of Jews from Ethiopia[edit]
A study of [46] Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East.

Y-DNA of Indian Jews[edit]
Genetic analysis shows that the Bene Israel of India cluster with the indigenous populations of western India and Ethiopia, but do have a clear paternal link to the populations of the Levant.[47] A recent more detailed study on Indian Jews has reported that the paternal ancestry of Indian Jews was also composed with some exclusive Middle East specific haplogroups (E,G, J(xJ2) and I) [48]”


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS:

[NOTE: Khazars -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khazars, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,

“The Khazars (Turkish: Hazarlar, Tatar: Xäzärlär, Hebrew: כוזרים (Kuzarim),[7] Arabic: خزر‎ (khazar), Ukrainian: Хаза́ри, Russian: Хаза́ры, Persian: خزر‎‎, Greek: Χάζαροι, Latin: Gazari[8][9]/Cosri[10]/Gasani[11][12]) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people, who created what for its duration was the most powerful polity to emerge from the breakup of the western Turkish steppe empire, known as the Khazar Khanate or Khazaria.[13] Astride a major artery of commerce between northern Europe and southwestern Asia, Khazaria became one of the foremost trading emporia of the medieval world, commanding the western marches of the Silk Road and played a key commercial role as a crossroad between China, the Middle East and Kievan Rus'.[14][15] For some three centuries (c. 650–965) the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus.[16] . . . .

Between 965 and 969, the Kievan Rus ruler Sviatoslav I of Kiev conquered the capital Atil and destroyed the Khazar state.

Originally, the Khazars were pagan Tengrist worshippers. The populace of the Khazar Khaganate appears to have been multi-confessional—a mosaic of pagan, Tengrist, Jewish, Christian and Muslim worshippers.[18] Beginning in the 8th century, Khazar royalty and notable segments of the aristocracy seem to have converted to Judaism. Proposals of Khazar origins have been made regarding the Slavic Judaising Subbotniks, the Bukharan Jews, the Muslim Kumyks, Kazakhs, the Cossacks of the Don region, the Turkic-speaking Krymchaks and their Crimean neighbours the Karaites to the Moldavian Csángós, the Mountain Jews and others.[19][20][21] A modern theory, that the core of Ashkenazi Jewry emerged from a hypothetical Khazarian Jewish diaspora, still finds occasional support, but is now viewed with skepticism by religious scholars.[22][23] The theory is sometimes associated with antisemitism[24] and anti-Zionism.[25] . . . .”]


[NOTE: en·dog·a·my, /enˈdäɡəmē/, noun, -- 1, the custom of marrying only within the limits of a local community, clan, or tribe. 2, the fusion of reproductive cells from related individuals; inbreeding; self-pollination. Word Origin -- mid 19th century: from endo- ‘within’ + Greek gamos ‘marriage,’ on the pattern of polygamy. Powered by Oxford Dictionaries]


[NOTE: “Mountain Jews” definition: Mountain Jews, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – “Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews (Hebrew: יהודים קווקזים) are Jews of the eastern and northern slopes of Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan and Dagestan. They are the descendants of Persian Jews from Iran.[2] The Mountain Jews community came established in Ancient Persia, from the 5th century AD onwards; their language of Juhuri is an ancient Southwest Iranian language and a Persian dialect which integrates many elements of Ancient Hebrew.[3] It is believed that they had reached Persia from Ancient Israel as early as the 8th century BCE. They continued to migrate east, settling in mountainous areas of the Caucasus. The Mountain Jews survived numerous historical vicissitudes by settling in extremely remote and mountainous areas. They were known to be accomplished warriors and horseback riders.

Mountain Jews are distinct from Georgian Jews of the Caucasus Mountains. They are culturally and ethnically different, speaking different languages and having many differences in customs and culture.[4] . . . .

"The Jewish Valley"[edit]

By the early 17th century, Mountain Jews formed many small settlements throughout mountain valleys of Dagestan.[7] One valley, located 10 km south of Derbent, close to the shore of the Caspian Sea, was predominantly populated by Mountain Jews. Their Muslim neighbors called this area "Jewish Valley." The Jewish Valley grew to be a semi-independent Jewish state, with its spiritual and political center located in its largest settlement of Aba-Sava (1630-1800).[7] The valley prospered until the end of the 18th century, when its settlements were brutally destroyed in the war between Sheikh-Ali-Khan, who swore in loyalty to Russian Empire, and Surkhai-Khan, the ruler of Kumukh.[citation needed] Many Mountain Jews were slaughtered, with survivors escaping to Derbent where they received the protection of Fatali Khan, the ruler of Quba Khanate.

In the 18th–19th century, the Jews resettled from the highland to the coastal lowlands but carried the name "Mountain Jews" with them. In the villages (aouls), the Mountain Jews had settled in separate sections. In the lowland towns they also lived in concentrated neighborhoods, but their dwellings did not differ from those of their neighbors. Mountain Jews retained the dress of the highlanders. They have continued to follow Jewish dietary laws and affirm their faith in family life.”]




This is the largest amount of information on the Jews as a people that I’ve ever read, and it is fascinating to me. I hope you have enjoyed it as well.