Human Biology, 2011

The genetic surveys of the population of Britain conducted by Weale et al. and Capelli et al. produced estimates of the Germani immigration into Britain during the early Anglo-Saxon period, c.430-c.730. These estimates are considerably higher than the estimates of archaeologists. A possible explanation suggested that an apartheid-like social system existed in the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms resulting in the Germani breeding more quickly than the Britons. Thomas et al. attempted to model this suggestion and showed that it was a possible explanation if all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms had such a system for up to 400 yrs. I noted that their explanation ignored the probability that Germani have been arriving in Britain for at least the past three millennia, including Belgae and Roman soldiers, and not only during the early Anglo-Saxon period. I produced a population model for Britain taking into account this long-term, low-level migration that showed that the estimates could be reconciled without the need for introducing an apartheid-like system. In turn, Thomas et al. responded criticizing my model and arguments, which they considered persuasively written but wanting in terms of methodology, data sources, underlying assumptions and application. Here, I responds in detail to those criticisms, and argue that it is still unnecessary to introduce an apartheidlike system in order to reconcile the different estimates of Germani arrivals. A point of confusion is that geneticists are interested in ancestry, while archaeologists are interested in ethnicity: it is the bones, not the burial rites, which are important in the present context.

… of the Royal …, 2006

The role of migration in the Anglo-Saxon transition in England remains controversial. Archaeological and historical evidence is inconclusive but current estimates of the contribution of migrants to the English population range from less than 10,000 to as many as 200,000. In contrast, recent studies based on the Y-chromosome posit a considerably higher contribution (50 to 100%). Historical evidence has suggested that following the Anglo-Saxon transition, people of indigenous ethnicity were at an economic and legal disadvantage compared to those seen as having an Anglo-Saxon ethnicity. It is likely that such a disadvantage would lead to differential reproductive success. We examine the effect of differential reproductive success coupled with limited intermarriage between distinct ethnic groups on the spread of genetic variants. Computer simulations indicate that an economic apartheid social structure with limited intermarriage between indigenous Britons and an initially small Anglo-Sa...

Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 2006

The role of migration in the Anglo-Saxon transition in England remains controversial. Archaeological and historical evidence is inconclusive, but current estimates of the contribution of migrants to the English population range from less than 10 000 to as many as 200 000. In contrast, recent studies based on Y-chromosome variation posit a considerably higher contribution to the modern English gene pool (50-100%). Historical evidence suggests that following the Anglo-Saxon transition, people of indigenous ethnicity were at an economic and legal disadvantage compared to those having Anglo-Saxon ethnicity. It is likely that such a disadvantage would lead to differential reproductive success. We examine the effect of differential reproductive success, coupled with limited intermarriage between distinct ethnic groups, on the spread of genetic variants. Computer simulations indicate that a social structure limiting intermarriage between indigenous Britons and an initially small Anglo-Saxon immigrant population provide a plausible explanation of the high degree of Continental male-line ancestry in England.

New Narratives for the First Millennium AD? Alte und neue Perspektiven der archäologischen Forschung zum 1. Jahrtausend n. Chr., 2023

An account of the events that saw the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists become the International Society for the Study of Early Medieval England in 2019, and reflections on the lessons to be learnt from that, based on reports requested by the Internationales Sachsensymposion.

The arrival of the Normans in England seems to mark the end of an Era and the conclusion of a complete cycle in the economic and social affairs of the English speaking peoples. This essay examines some of the forces involved.

Anglo-Saxon superiority

Our School training, just described, does not prepare for any of these avocations. On the contrary, it inspires the young people with disgust, it teaches them the alleged superiority of public functions. How many heads of families whose positions rest on agriculture, industry, or trade, wonder at hearing their sonsjust out of school declare that they cannot continue the paternal calling ! The School has disgusted them with it. This influence on the part of the School is becoming so general that we have come to deplore nowadays the estrangement of French young men from the more usual occupations, which, however, are also the most useful and honourable. In consequence, those young men who, having failed in their examinations, are obliged to throw themselves on such callings, only do so on compulsion, half-heartedly, without natural dispositions, or sufficient special education-in short, in the very worst of conditions for assuring success. However, besides official functions, our educational rigime particularly predisposes young men to all kinds of office or administrative work as well as the liberal professions. Any preference for the former is easily accounted for by its analogy with the work of public offices. The same aptitudes are required, and there is as little demand for initiative, exercise of will-power, or constant effort ; on the other hand, equal security is offered : advancement is slow and sure, inevitable. * On this subject, see M. Bureau's articles in La Sen

Proceedings of the Royal …, 2008

Note that in this article I use the term "Anglo-Saxon" throughout. Recently it has come to my attention that some have objected to this term as right-wing white nationalists (especially in the US) have tried to appropriate it. The term refers to the mixed Germanic groups that inhabited northwest Germany, Jutland and northern Netherlands in the fifth and sixth century and the people of lowland Britain who either adopted their language/culture or were descended from Angles and Saxons who sailed across the North Sea to Britain. 'Anglo-Saxon' is a ridiculous term to use for any 21st century person or group (well, it is possibly okay if you are an early medieval re-enactor!). The Angles and Saxons mixed with the Britons and many other later migrant groups so anyone living today who thinks they are an Anglo-Saxon is ill informed. Anyone who thinks some people rowing over the North Sea one and a half thousand years ago means that to be English today you have to be white, is a racist and an idiot (the former are invariably also the latter). The term Anglo-Saxon has been used in various forms for over a thousand years to mean a fifth/sixth century Germanic cultural group and I continue to use in where it is appropriate and accurate; I am not going to stop using it because racists misuse it.

American Anthropologist, 1994

Human Revolution. Paul Mellars and Chris Stringer, eds. Pp. 232-244. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 1989b Documenting the Origin of Modern Humans. In The Emergence of Modern Humans. Erik Trinkaus ed. Pp. 67-96. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1992a Reconstructing Recent Human Evolution. Phil. Trans. of the Royal Soc. B.337:217-224. 1992b Replacement, Continuity and the Origin of Homo sapiens. In Continuity or Replacement: Controversies in Homo sapiens Evolution.

Language Dynamics and Change, 2016

Emonds & Faarlund judge subgrouping by problematic criteria and do not actually employ their stated criteria, while those criteria in fact show English to be West Germanic.