DNA study links Celtic and Germanic languages to eastern migrations

An analysis of more than 5,000 ancient genomes suggests Celtic languages spread west from Central Europe, while the ancestor of Germanic languages reached Scandinavia from the east later than previously thought, ERR reported.

An international team led by researchers at the University of Copenhagen examined genetic material from people who lived during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The researchers compared ancient DNA sequences with one another and with modern genomes, using computer models to identify shared genetic segments and trace population relationships over thousands of years.

The findings suggest that a previously unidentified population moved from the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea to Sweden about 4,000 years ago. Over the next 500 years, the group spread across Scandinavia, bringing an early form of Germanic with it. The migration took place nearly 800 years later than historians had previously believed, the researchers said.

Near the end of the Iron Age, people from Scandinavia began moving south again. About 1,650 years ago, they reached what are now Germany, Poland and the Netherlands, where Celtic languages were then spoken predominantly. During the Migration Period, the same genetic traces also appeared in the British Isles and southern Europe.

To investigate the spread of Celtic languages, the researchers compared four historical models. The genetic evidence most strongly supported a theory placing their homeland in east-central Europe. From there, communities moved west between 3,200 and 2,800 years ago, settling in what are now France, the British Isles and northern Italy.

The researchers said the DNA findings help distinguish migrations from the spread of customs and languages between neighbouring populations.