Y-DNA Haplogroup I1-Z63 (I1a3)

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Haplogroup I-Z63, also known as I1a3, is a Y chromosome haplogroup. It is defined by a DYS456 value inferior to 15.

I-Z63 is a strongly British subclade. The progenitor of I-Z63 is assumed to have lived in Jutland at around 2000 BCE.^[1]

I-Z63 is most common in England, Scotland, Germany, Scandinavia, Iberia and Poland.Within Scandinavia, I-Z63 has a particularly strong association with Finland.

To date, ancient I-Z63 has been found archeologically in Poland and in Wolverton, Buckinghamshire.^[2]

Origins

On the basis of analysing samples of volunteers in YDNA sequencing, Z63 has been estimated by the YDNA analysis company YFull to be formed 4,600 years ago (95 % CI 5,100 <-> 4,000 ybp) with a TMRCA (Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) of 4,000 years (95 % CI 4,500 <-> 3,500 ybp) before present.

Geographically I-Z63 is believed to have arisen in or near what is now Denmark (based in part on the current distribution of this haplogroup).[7] The current distribution of I-Z63 shows that there is a very high concentration of I-Z63 on the British Isles. At the same time we know from the archeological record that there is a strong association of I-Z63 with the Wielbark culture and by extension with the Goths. There is a proposed link between the Goths and British migration, the so-called "Jutish Hypothesis". The "Jutish hypothesis" claims that the Jutes may be synonymous with the Geats of southern Sweden or their neighbours, the Gutes. The evidence adduced for this theory includes:

primary sources referring to the Geats (Geátas) by alternative names such as Iútan, Iótas and Eotas;

Asser in his Life of Alfred (893) identifies the Jutes with the Goths (in a passage claiming that Alfred the Great was descended, through his mother, Osburga, from the ruling dynasty of the Jutish kingdom of Wihtwara, on the Isle of Wight), and;

the Gutasaga (13th Century) states that some inhabitants of Gotland left for mainland Europe; large burial sites attributable to either Goths or Gepids were found in the 19th century near Wielbark in Poland.

The Jutes invaded and settled in southern Britain in the late 4th century during the Age of Migrations, as part of a larger wave of Germanic settlement in the British Isles. The Jutish migration to Britain can explain the high concentration of I-Z63 found in today's Britain. However, what is notable in present distribution of I-Z63 is the almost complete absence of I-Z63 from Denmark which is surprising because, in a geographical sense, Denmark encompasses the ancient homeland of the Jutes. The complete absence of I-Z63 in present Denmark, however, can be explained by displacement of the Jutes from their ancient homeland by foreign invaders. Even in 945 the Jutland peoples were still under the gun from foreign invaders (yet ironically were adopting that role elsewhere such as England). In 945 King Hacon of Norway arrived in Jutland and slew many of the people there sending the survivors “far up into the land”. The current distrubution of I-Z63 clearly shows that while there is a complete absence of I-Z63 in present Denmark, sizable numbers of I-Z63 exist today in Norway, Sweden and Aland.

Based on the combined evidence, the preferred current working hypothesis therefore puts the progenitor of I-Z63 in ancient Jutland around the year 2000 BCE.

Archeological Record

I-Z63 has been traced to the Kowalewko burial site in Poland which dates to the Roman Iron Age. In 2017 Polish researchers could successfully assign YDNA haplogroups to 16 individuals who were buried at the site. Out of these 16 individuals three belonged to haplogroup I-Z63, and in particular subclade I-L1237. The Kowalewko archeological site has been associated with the Wielbark culture. The Wielbark culture in turn has been associated with the Goths. Therefore the subclade I-L1237 of I-Z63 may be seen somewhat as a genetic indicator of the Gothic tribe of late antiquity. It has to be noted, however, that I-L1237 predates the Gothic tribe and it is also found in high concentration in other places not directly connected to the Goths (especially the British Isles). However, there is an academic theory that the Gothic tribe is connected to British migration through the so-called "Jutish Hypothesis", which would explain why I-L1237 is so strongly associated both with British migration and with Gothic migration patterns.

• I-Z63