Shetlanders with "dark hair and swarthy skin"?!

[sallyyorks]

I understand the gene pool in Iceland is largely Celtic. 

I don't think there is any such thing as a 'Celtic gene pool'. 'Celt' is a language branch/ time period, not a genetic group.
'DNA study shows Celts are not a unique genetic group'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31905764

Icelandic paternal gene pool
'About 20-25% of the Icelandic paternal gene pool is of Gaelic origin, with the rest being Nordic.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelanders

The Vikings took slaves in Scotland and Ireland on the way there; they saw themselves as colonial farmers rather than permanent settlers, and tended to return to mainland Scandinavia when they reached retiring age, leaving their 'slaves' behind.  Those were more like indentured servants, who were generally well treated and often rewarded for faithful service with a gift of land.  Of course they were required to speak the Norse language, which has changed much less than the other Scandinavian languages.

I admit I haven't done a DNA analysis, but the distribution of blood groups in Iceland is much more similar to that in Ireland than in Scandinavia.

The Picts (as opposed to the Scots, who were Irish) were very possibly pre-Celtic settlers and could have been swarthy.  The pre-Celtic folk in Ireland are sometimes referred to as Iberian.  Though I feel the Iberian peninsula may have been only a staging post -- perhaps for a generation -- on a migration route taken by some seafaring Mediterranean adventurers (Phoenicians?, Trojans?, Carthaginians?).

The gene for blue eyes is recessive, for fair hair too I think, so the darker variants will tend to persist in a population.

The people of north western Europe are closely related and were probably all of various complexions and colours. Many Anglo Saxons and 'Vikings' would probably have been dark. 'Britons/Celts' might have been too but many were probably blonde and blue eyed as well. We don't really know.
The idea that all 'Celts' were dark and all Nordic types were blonde was not true. North western Europeans probably didn't look much different than we do today.


It isn't true that blue eyes are 'recessive'. Two blue eyed parents can have a brown eyed child and vice versa.
'One of the oldest myths in human genetics is that having blue eyes is determined by a single gene, with the allele for blue eyes recessive to the allele for non-blue eyes (green, brown, or hazel)'
https://udel.edu/~mcdonald/mytheyecolor.html

[sallyyorks]

It does seem like the Celtic parts of Britain are the most swathy

Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta Jones etc The Welsh in particular are quite dark featured I find

Maybe this is what Britons looked like before Anglo Saxon and other influences

Anglo Saxons probably looked very similar to Britons/Celts.
Most of Europe was 'Celt'

[HughC]

When the university bookshop in Belfast closed down a couple of years ago, the manager told me they just couldn't compete with the internet.  I imagined he meant Am*z*n, but afterwards it occurred to me that students probably don't buy books at all these days.  "I read it on the internet, so it must be true".

I'm evidently going to have to start burning my books.

[AdamsHodgetts]

It does seem like the Celtic parts of Britain are the most swathy

Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta Jones etc The Welsh in particular are quite dark featured I find

Maybe this is what Britons looked like before Anglo Saxon and other influences

Anglo Saxons probably looked very similar to Britons/Celts.
Most of Europe was 'Celt'

Interesting reading all about the dark swarthy ancestors as I have some in my family tree.

Another film star springs to mind is the late Gregory Peck who mentioned that his colourings came from the "Black Irish" side of his father's Irish ancestors.

Also a friend of mine, her two brothers, and her sister are all dark skinned with blue eyes and the other brother had reddish hair with freckled completion but tans easily. The surname MacKelo seems rare and it's not clear to where the surname originated from. Their parents, Dad was born in Scotland and Mum  originated from Spain. 

Moderator comment: Names of living people removed in accordance with our 'no living people' policy.

Please read our guidelines for posting

http://www.rootschat.com/help/posting_guide.php

[Viktoria]

Well, a Spanish galleon is supposed to have sunk in Tobermoray Bay.
The Duke of Argyll spent a lot of money trying to find and raise or at least salvage the supposed treasures she was carrying.
Presumanbly some sailors survived and perhaps intermarried.
Whilst Tobermoray is not in Shetland it is not too far away and people did travel.
Viktoria.

[Redroger]

Surely DNA tests specifically amongst these Shetlanders and Iberia have to be the answer? Wider DNA tests of the British population would be helpful to answer the wider questions.

[Skoosh]

@ Viktoria, anent Tobermory to Shetland distance, I wouldn't like to run it for the toilet! 

Skoosh.

[Chris Anderson]

Surely DNA tests specifically amongst these Shetlanders and Iberia have to be the answer? Wider DNA tests of the British population would be helpful to answer the wider questions.

Agreed. Check out my profile pic

Looks more like Michael Corelone to me than a Scot Shetlander but there you go

[GR2]

I wonder whether centuries of peat smoke and Shetland weather may have contributed.