ANGLO SAXONS ESSAY

Anglo Saxons Essay

Anglo Saxons Essay

Introduction

Since the end of the Second World War archaeology has enjoyed an increasing contribution from the physical and chemical sciences. One of the more recent developments is in the application of biochemistry and molecular genetics to the study of issues such as evolution, social structure and population history (Renfrew & Bahn 2008, 37 & 228). One particular use of these methods has been to study the movement of populations, for example in the Prehistoric settlement of Australia (Hudjashov et al 2007).

This essay will discuss the use of genetic science to study the particular problem of the scale and nature of the Anglo-Saxon migration period. It will begin with an overview of the study of the migration period through the varied historical, linguistic and archaeological evidence, followed by a brief account of the use of DNA evidence in archaeology. Following this is a description and discussion of some of the work that has been done in applying genetic science to the migration question.

The Migration Period

The fifth to sixth centuries A.D. was a period of major transition for Britain, with the collapse of Roman power giving way to settlement and eventual domination by Germanic migrants across much of what is now England (Arnold 1997, 20; Heather 2005, 437; Russell 2005, 1). This transition is strikingly evident in the archaeological record, with considerable differences appearing in the nature of the settlement, burial and material culture evidence (Russell 2005,1). The nature of this transition is one of the most extensively studied and hotly debated topics in Anglo-Saxon archaeology (Russell 2005, 1; Harke 1998, 19-21; Arnold 1997, 31-32).

The linguistic evidence certainly indicates strong Germanic influence in post-Roman England - for while some place-names are Britonic, Old English remained strongly Germanic in its vocabulary, with only about 30 words of Britonic origin being included (Ward-Perkins 2000; Tristram 2007, 192). However, it is worth noting that the preservation of Old English in writing was carried out by a small number of people from amongst the elites (primarily monks), and so the predominance of Germanic language in the surviving literature does not necessarily indicate Old English was the dominant language amongst the rest of the population (Tristram 2007, 203).

In archaeological studies, the varied origins of Germanic migrants can be identified through material culture - pottery, metalworking, and burial rites (Arnold 1997, 23). For example, the Jutish settlement of Kent described in the historical sources is supported by the presence in eastern Kent of diagnostic artefacts such as cruciform brooches and Jutish pottery (Arnold 1997, 23; Hawkes 82, 70). Likewise, settlers from the Saxon region around the river Elbe appear to have settled in the Thames Valley and lands to the south, while 'Anglians' from the Schleswig-Holstein region occupied middle, eastern and northern England at the same time (Arnold 1997, 23; Hawkes 82, 71). However, this is a simple description of a very complex reality; there are many areas of apparently mixed settlement, and material evidence identified as Frankish, Thuringian, Frisian, Scandinavian ...