Blonde, Blue-Eyed Brit with the DNA of an African
Seven men from the North of England sharing Revis as their surname can trace their DNA to Africa. Blonde (though now mostly bald and gray) and blue-eyed John Revis is one of them. After tracing his family history to the U.S. and England, he donated a DNA sample to Leicester University. Researchers found that portions of his Y chromosome could be linked to Africa.
John Revis:
It was a shock to find out that, because I was so blond and blue-eyed when I was younger, people thought I was Nordic or German.
But the researchers said that if my DNA were examined then people would assume they were looking at a North African man.
I suspect there must have been some big Berber tribesman who came to Britain with the Romans and spread his seed all over Yorkshire.
Before you gasp, have a look at these images of the Berber people at the William Coupon Gallery. It is easy to see that most if not all could pass as white. Also, African slaves arrived in Europe during Roman Times around 1800 years ago allowing plenty of time for population admixture.
Mr. Revis, however, might be just a tad confused. According to the King et al. study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, Mr. Revis actually has an hgA1 Y chromosome that has a West African origin. Of 18 Yorkshire men who have the Revis surname, seven have the same chromosome and their most recent common ancestor lived in Yorkshire in the 18th century.
The researchers conclude:
Our findings represent the first genetic evidence of Africans among ‘indigenous’ British, and emphasize the complexity of human migration history as well as the pitfalls of assigning geographical origin from Y-chromosomal haplotypes.
Statements like this one made by Mr. Revis’s wife is just plain silly in light of the fact the environment and culture in which you grew up and live determine much of the food you like to eat and what you like to do.
I can hardly believe it. John has always seemed very English to me. He likes his roast beef and Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday. He has never asked me to cook anything unusual. My friends think our news is hilarious.
The closest John ever came to the traditional Berber life was when he went camping with the Scouts. I don’t think we’ve been in a tent since we got married.
I, on the other hand, do not like Yorkshire pudding. Is that because I am genetically Chinese or because I grew up in California? Ponder that!
This is London, January 27, 2007
Tags: genetics, genes, dna, john revis, revis, health, genealogy, africa, yorkshire
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POSTED IN: Genealogy and DNA
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20 opinions for Blonde, Blue-Eyed Brit with the DNA of an African
Connie Luayon
Jan 31, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Very interesting post, Hsien! I’ve always been interested in genealogy.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Feb 2, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Connie: Have you done any genealogical study on your own family? I’ve never been all that into it myself.
Connie Luayon
Feb 5, 2007 at 11:25 pm
No. I expect that it would take a lifetime to do it. Heh heh. I only know that I’m a mix of Indo-Malay, Chinese, and Spanish Mexican.
Gerald Revis
Feb 7, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I too participated in this same study by supplying a cheek swab of saliva to the University of Leicester, but after a number of years, I have not been provided with any specific findings (though I did receive some generic information that confirmed receipt of my sample). I would be interested in knowing how my DNA matches up to other Revis men who participated throughout England, considering my Revis ancestor came to America in the 1600’s. Like John Revis, I too was once blonde, but now share the “bald and gray” characteristic to go with my blue eyes. Hmmm ….
Gerald Revis
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Feb 12, 2007 at 10:52 am
Gerald: How nice to hear from you! I wonder if you could email Prof. Jobling to get more specific results. His email is maj4@le.ac.uk . And if you wouldn’t mind sharing what you find out, I’d love to feature you here at GeneticsAndHealth.com! My email is hsien@b5media.com .
PS Bald and gray isn’t necessarily a bad thing! I’m sure you look very distinguished.
Wow!!!!
Apr 16, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Many people would be very surprised to learn that we all (the entire human race) originated in Africa. This goes to show that although we look different from one another, race is more of a social construct than a biological one.
I wonder why Revis would suddenly refer to himself as an “ethnic minority”. The one-drop rule is only enforced in the United States…not in the UK, other parts of Europe, or Brazil. He has not lived as a minority, nor is he classified as one. He will not be viewed as black by society because he isn’t. His wife doesn’t seem like the most enlightened person. I don’t mean that in a bad way. However, when she says her husband has always “seemed very English”, I was like DUH!!! What else would he be?
If he was born and bred in England, then he is as British as she is, irrespective of what some DNA test shows about his bloodline. And you’re on the money about her other comment. Because of this recent discovery, he’s supposed to be out in the woods eating African food? Ridiculous and racist. Many “white people” in America and in Britain have some African DNA in their bloodline but most would never verify that.
LisaH
May 5, 2007 at 7:39 pm
I agree with Wow!!!! Wouldn’t most of us, if not all of us, in the world have genetic markers that say “africa”? And why say that Berbers only look white and are not white (I don’t know that they are considered white or not)…white is a misnomer as Caucasians are many different colors…I would think that a good portion of North Africa could be classified as Caucasian regardless of how dark their skin is.
HAmmer07
May 23, 2007 at 3:37 pm
Come on!!! ar eyou serious. look its in basic sophmore science. Blonde hair and blue eyes are flaus in the genetic code it might have some effect by passed down genes but its just a mistake the hosts body makes when creating a human life.
-HAmmer
Gus
May 25, 2007 at 4:09 pm
When first europeans arrived to the Canary Islands they found aboriging people, generally of blonde hair, tall, and white skin, similar to nordic people. Some anthropologists classified them as proto-arians. They were called the guanches and today a large part of the Canarian population have these caracteristics. There is a lot of people where I live wich could really pass as norwegians. But they don´t know anything about nordic countries and they don´t have any ancestors there, they all have spanish surnames. Google and search for Guanches… you will be very surprised. How did they arrive there and when? the thing is that the language they used is related to that of the actual berebers. The berebers of the pictures here are far of being the white, blond and tall I am talking about, however I have known bereber people from Marrocco who looks like Guanche. If you don´t believe me you should contact me and I will send you pictures of my family, all with spanish surnames but not sembling, really may have nordic-germanic origins, Some historians say that their name comes from a barbarian tribe deported to north Africa by romans. Barbarian and bereber sounds similar. In latin Barbari = bereber. Keep looking. But if you go to the town of Gáldar ( wich in old norse means magic) or Agaete ( wich means beautiful) on the north of Gran Canaria, you will find lots of blond hair tall blue eyed people who has nothing to do with the nordic, english or german people spending their holidays in the south. The majority of the people in my family is blond ( like my sister) brown hair, red hair and blue or green eyes. Are we totally from spain or were our ancestors those called Guanches? By the way, many og them where captured and send to Europe to be sold as servents or attractions, because of their wild prehistoric nature and their habilities. How tall are you?
Barbary pirate
Sep 5, 2007 at 3:01 am
Basically what this DNA results tell me is that my ancestors the Barbary pirates, who raided the english and irish coasts where not there only for the loot, it seems that they were there because of their passion for english girls as well.
valerie
Sep 9, 2007 at 3:11 am
if were all black where did blonde hair and blue eyes come from?
Jay C. Smith
Oct 2, 2007 at 12:11 am
Jay C. Smith - Houston, Texas.
Yes, Africa is the birthplace of all humanity. The reason Europeans are pale or “white”, the reason East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, etc.) are basically “yellow”, and the reason why Native Americans are reddish-brown is all because of the variations of the Earth’s climes. White skin and wavy hair is suitable and adaptable to those living in Europe, especially in the north, where its climes are rather cloudy and cool. Asians living in Asia live in Asian climes where the weather can have extreme heat or cold. Most East Asians have pale or yellow skin and slanted eyes. The slanted eyes are designed to protect the eyes both from sun and snow blindness and from gusty, damaging winds. As for Native Americans of the Americas (North & South America), their “red” skin helps them to adapt to both hot summers and cold winters! And as for black Africans, their dark skin shields them from the excessively hot African sun. So, thanks to Earth’s diverse climate, skin colors of all people vary! And even though we look different on the outside, we are all the same on the inside; the same red blood, the same 46 chromosomes which allows us all to racially interbreed, and of course, the same body functions. Ironically, part of this I learned from the animated sitcom “Family Guy!”
Yes, we are all human. Thank you for your time, and God bless! - Jay C. Smith, Houston, TX
Frank
Oct 8, 2007 at 3:51 am
My paternal grandmother was from the Canary Islands(Spain)had a Castillian surname and was blond and blue eyed. We have three true redheads in the family-probably from Galicia in NW
Spain-.Did anyone mention their were Germanic tribes throughout northern Africa around 400 A.D. (Vandals and Visigothics). We are, indeed, all human Jay,but the reasons for racial differences between population groups is due to mutations in genes. This is why the descendants
of blonds who migrate to a tropical location will still be blond 300 years later:Aussie for example.
SandCat
Oct 15, 2007 at 5:01 am
There are a lot of errors in this article. The hgA1 Y chromosome (haplogroup A) has a sub-Saharan West African origin (Black People marker) and is not a Berber marker. Berbers belong to haplogroup E3B which is found throughout the Mediterranean at different percentages, from 20 to 30% in the Balkans and Greece, 15% in Italy, 10% in Spain, 5 to 10% in Eastern Europe, 4 to 5% in Ireland and England and 40 to 75% among the Berbers depending on the area. If this Briton has the E3B marker, there should no surprise as he very likely was blond or at least white from the beginning (no major changes to his looks have taken place). But since he carries the hgA1 Y chromosome, his ancestors are very like black Africans which is very surprising.
Baloney Squasher
Jan 20, 2008 at 2:58 pm
#1 NO people has ever migrated to another area and they all changed their race.
#2 When ever white and black races mix
a Some offsprings will be white
b Some offsprings will be black
c Some offsprings will be a mix
BUT never will they all be white nor will they all be black
Check out the hundreds of Jeffersons descendants who are white and black
If any Africans ever migrated to Europe they would not all turn white.
If these “white men” with African dna had African ancestors, a part of their families would be black.. just like Jeffersons descendants
Just like the mixed families of British and Polynesians who came from the Bounty.
NO such thing as white Europeans who are descendants of SW Asians or Africans
skunk_skinner@yahoo.com
Garrig
Feb 5, 2008 at 9:01 pm
I hope people realize that African and Berber in particular, does not automatically mean Black. To call him an “ethnic minority” is unthinkably ludicrous as I’m sure quite a few Brits have similar origins. After the end of the Ice Age many who took refuge in Iberia and North Africa were among the first to arrive in the Brittish Isles and establish settlements. Although they were mostly Iberians, Iberians have always carried some North African genetic traits because of the many migrations back and forth across the two continents. Recent genetic testing has confirmed the Scottish and Welsh, especially, bear a strong relation to Iberians and Berbers.
http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/1583
People need to come to terms.
Tom muller
Feb 6, 2008 at 12:28 am
I had a grandfather(paternal) whom we knew nothing about except that he was an orphan. He died in 1946 the year I was born. He was purportedly German as was my grandmother. Several months ago I had DNA testing and the results are finally starting to come in paternally. Mots interesting to find Portugese, Spanish, Irish and African American among the possibilities of ancestors. Why African American and not just African. I am fair and take much of my coloring from my mother’s side of the family who are supposedly Italian(?). I realize that means nothing but having lived life thinking one is Italian and German only to realize that I really am a mix like everyone else is. I always knew this but now science is telling all directly. Anyhow the company that is doing this has come under fire from many for slow processing but they have gotten me the information very slowly. Genebase.com will ring a bell with many I am sure. They do not offer any great tools for interpretation of results. Can anyone recommend a resource for a novice?
Janine
Feb 7, 2008 at 9:08 pm
So, here’s my story. My mom is white, and dad is black. I have 3 siblings. 3 out of 4 of us are light skinned, but you can tell we’re mixed. One of us, in the middle, has white skin, blue eyes and blonde hair. The rest of us have brown eyes and brown hair. You mean to tell me, it’s possible that she would randomly end up looking totally different from us?
eileen Abrams
Feb 25, 2008 at 12:26 am
I took the ancestry by dna test, and it came back 18% subsaharan african, 12% east asian and 70% european. Can I consider myself mixed?
How far back would the 18% go? My grandma looked part asian.
Would love to get some answers.
skunk skinner
Feb 26, 2008 at 2:50 pm
The idea of tracking people in Africa by regions is quite silly.
There were no border guards.. no borders
Travelers would be free to move any where, never have to farm, never go hungry.
No matter if it is Europe or Africa, there have always been segments of society who have traveled to areas far away… so a guy from 800 miles north could easily deposit their dna 800 miles to the south.
One of the easiest bunches to spot is the millions of whites in south Africa…
Today descendants of these white Afiicans could migrate to the Americas and trace their dna back to Africa …
Tracing your dna to a region would work IF people in that region had borders and no outside Africans would be allowed to sprinkel their seed.
Your grandparents are NOT your exclusive grandparents but you share them with others.
You are not the exclusive grandchild of your 4 grandparents, but you are one of multiples
Consider this
You had 2 parents.. they had 2 parents
4 grand parents
8 great grand parents
16 great great grandparents
Around 1500 AD we all had over a million great grand parents.. we share them with millions of other people.
Any one who thinks they can track their grand parents, just go back 5 generations, name all your grandparents and give your evidence of where they came from.
Dna can determine race
Race being physical traits that are exclusive to different populations.
Dna can tell nothing about your ancestors
* Were your ancestors slaves taken from the jungles or
* Were your ancestors, black slave kidnappers who took other black families out of the jungles to sell to the white man.
What part of Africa your ancestors came from or what they were involved in will not benefit at all … but those people selling dna test pretending it is some crystal ball will roll in the cash of the gullible
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