One Response to “Is there any DNA evidence for Israelites in the pre-Columbia…”
Pedro Cruz
2008-02-24 22:58:48
Hi friend. It was good to hear from you again. As I have written elsewhere, DNA evidence does not disprove the Book of Mormon. While DNA evidence does strongly suggest that the peoples described in the Book of Mormon are not the principle ancestors of modern Native Americans, DNA evidence does not in any way preclude the possibility that Book of Mormon peoples may have made a minor genetic contribution to the genetic makeup of modern Native Americans. This should come as no surprise; many Jews, for example, cannot be confirmed Jewish through DNA studies. (See, for example, "The Fallacy of Biological Judaism," by Robert Pollack, 2003).
Some scientists have found evidence of "Jewish DNA markers" among Native American peoples. For example, Carvajal-Carmona et al. in 2000 studied the Antioquian population of Colombia and found evidence of Jewish ancestory:
"A number of the Antioquian Y-microsatellite haplotypes shown in table 4 carry large alleles at locus DYS388 (alleles with >14 repeats). These alleles are absent or have low frequencies in European and African populations but reach high frequencies in Middle Eastern populations (Kayser et al. 1997; Thomas et al. 2000). Large alleles were detected in the Basque and Catalan populations, at frequencies of 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively, and, in Antioquia, at a frequency of 16.2%. Among the Arabs, Berbers, Saharawis, and Tachelhits, such alleles were found at frequencies of 8.9%, 0%, 10%, and 11%, respectively. This suggests some Semitic ancestry for Antioquia and is consistent with the genetic distance analysis of table 3. Interestingly, haplotype 4, which carries a DYS388 allele with 16 repeats, corresponds to the Cohen modal haplotype (CMH) of Thomas et al. (1998). This haplotype has frequencies >10% among Jewish populations but seems to be rare in Arab populations and has been proposed as an indicator of Jewish ancestry (Thomas et al. 2000). Two other haplotypes (12 and 29) are one mutational step away from the CMH. Haplotypes 3 and 5 also match haplotypes detected among Jewish populations; they correspond to haplotypes 2 and 27 in Thomas et al. (2000). In that survey, Antioquian haplotype 3 was observed only among Sephardic Jews. These matches occur in haplogroup C and, on aggregate, imply that ~14% of the Antioquian haplotypes could have a Jewish ancestry."
These researchers, however, speculate that the "Jewish DNA" found in this Native American group is present because of intermingling with European Jews that came to the Americas after the European conquest. Many pro-Mormon "apologists" argue that researches are too quick to dismiss findings like these as European "contamination" of the Native American gene pool. There may be some merits to these claims, but I tend to side with the researchers. At least some "contamination" seems almost certain. The claims by some that DNA supports the Book of Mormon story are, in my opinion, interesting but at present premature. The current evidence neither confirms nor disproves the Book of Mormon account conclusively.
Some scientists have found evidence of "Jewish DNA markers" among Native American peoples. For example, Carvajal-Carmona et al. in 2000 studied the Antioquian population of Colombia and found evidence of Jewish ancestory:
"A number of the Antioquian Y-microsatellite haplotypes shown in table 4 carry large alleles at locus DYS388 (alleles with >14 repeats). These alleles are absent or have low frequencies in European and African populations but reach high frequencies in Middle Eastern populations (Kayser et al. 1997; Thomas et al. 2000). Large alleles were detected in the Basque and Catalan populations, at frequencies of 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively, and, in Antioquia, at a frequency of 16.2%. Among the Arabs, Berbers, Saharawis, and Tachelhits, such alleles were found at frequencies of 8.9%, 0%, 10%, and 11%, respectively. This suggests some Semitic ancestry for Antioquia and is consistent with the genetic distance analysis of table 3. Interestingly, haplotype 4, which carries a DYS388 allele with 16 repeats, corresponds to the Cohen modal haplotype (CMH) of Thomas et al. (1998). This haplotype has frequencies >10% among Jewish populations but seems to be rare in Arab populations and has been proposed as an indicator of Jewish ancestry (Thomas et al. 2000). Two other haplotypes (12 and 29) are one mutational step away from the CMH. Haplotypes 3 and 5 also match haplotypes detected among Jewish populations; they correspond to haplotypes 2 and 27 in Thomas et al. (2000). In that survey, Antioquian haplotype 3 was observed only among Sephardic Jews. These matches occur in haplogroup C and, on aggregate, imply that ~14% of the Antioquian haplotypes could have a Jewish ancestry."
These researchers, however, speculate that the "Jewish DNA" found in this Native American group is present because of intermingling with European Jews that came to the Americas after the European conquest. Many pro-Mormon "apologists" argue that researches are too quick to dismiss findings like these as European "contamination" of the Native American gene pool. There may be some merits to these claims, but I tend to side with the researchers. At least some "contamination" seems almost certain. The claims by some that DNA supports the Book of Mormon story are, in my opinion, interesting but at present premature. The current evidence neither confirms nor disproves the Book of Mormon account conclusively.
A fairly good review of this topic can be found at http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/DNA.shtml.