Diverse sets of genes shaped the populations of the two nations, which had completely different origins: “Viking expansion in the North Atlantic was more complex than previously thought.”
New research reveals that the Viking settlers of Iceland and the Faroe Islands were, contrary to popular belief, originally from distinct Scandinavian populations.
The genetic study, this Monday at Frontiers in Geneticsconcluded that these two island regions of the North Atlantic had settlement patterns and distinct origins.
“Here we provide strong evidence that the Faroe Islands were colonized by a diverse group of male settlers from various Scandinavian populations,” he said. Christopher Tillquistlead author of the new study.
“Scientists have long assumed that the Faroe Islands and Iceland were both colonized by similar Norse peoples. However, our new analysis has shown that these islands were founded by men of different genetic groups from Scandinavia”, highlighted the professor.
The researchers initially looked at genetic data from 139 men from three Faroe Islands — Borðoy, Streymoy and Suðuroy — and identified haplogroups linked to specific regions of Scandinavia on the Y chromosome. These results were compared with genetic profiles from 412 men from Norway, Sweden , Denmark, Iceland and Ireland.
The results indicate that the Faroe Islands were colonized by a genetically diverse group of Vikings from various Scandinavian populations. In contrast, the Viking settlers of Iceland had a more distinct and homogeneous genetic profile.
“A group, diverse in its Scandinavian origins, settled in the Faroe Islands, while another group of Vikings, genetically more divergent, colonized Iceland. They have distinct genetic signatures that persist to this day”, explains the study author.
To better understand these differences, researchers used, according to , an innovative method called “Modal Haplotype Mutational Distance”. This approach highlighted a “founder effect,” in which the genetic diversity of a small initial population is randomly reduced during colonization.
The study also sheds light on the complexity of migrations from the Viking era. Despite the geographic proximity of the Faroe Islands and Iceland, there is no evidence of interbreeding between their founding populations, suggesting that Viking ships carried not only valiant warriors but also distinct genetic legacies that shaped the histories of these islands.
“There does not appear to have been any subsequent interbreeding between these two populations.despite its geographic proximity. Our results demonstrate that Viking expansion in the North Atlantic was more complex than previously thought,” the authors write.
“Each ship that sailed to these distant islands carried not just Vikings, but also distinct genetic legacies. We can now trace these separate journeys of conquest and colonization, revealing a more nuanced story of Viking exploration than that told in the history books,” concludes Tillquist.
