Paternal Haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2

Altamira Cave, Spain

Paternal Haplogroup: R1b1b2a1a2

In 2010 my oldest son had his genome DNA tested showing the
Paternal Haplogroup reaches back to Gascony in Southern France and the Basque Region of Spain, as far back as  20,000 BCE, the time of the paintings in the Lascaux and Altamira caves. According to 23andMe.com, “R1b1b2a1a2 is found in the Y chromosome, a sex chromosome found only in males. It is passed from father to son.”

The surprising thing about our genome to me was that I have all my life been fascinated by the ancient cave paintings in Lascaux, have read everything I’ve ever happened upon about them. I can remember in the early ’70s, in a humanities class, viewing and discussing a movie about the caves. For most of my life, to my mind, the human time scale they represent especially served as a reminder of the longevity of humanity on this planet. They naturally became a part of an epic poem I’m writing, The Parliament of Poets, with my writing about Lauscaux nearly two years ago. All the more astonishing to me to discover there’s a marker in my genes going back to the Basque region.

I’ve usually identified most with my English heritage, though I’ve always known of several other strands of genealogy, some back into the early 1700s, German, French, Irish, and Croatian.

Over 20,000 years is so incredible of a time scale that any mention of genealogy becomes absurd. The only rational conclusion is that I’m a human being.

Maternal Haplogroup T2f1

Frederick Glaysher

4 Comments

Filed under Epic

4 Responses to Paternal Haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2

  1. Janick Magne

    R1b1b2a1a2 is also my dad’s haplogroup !
    Hello, family !

  2. FG

    Konnichiwa, Tokyo!

    If interested, see my several pieces here on Japanese literature, Abe, Oe, Tamura…

  3. Janick Magne

    It’s extremely interesting to see your picture: I definitely find common features with my dad (who will be 92 in May this year)! Interesting also to learn that you taught in Japan. I am also a (French language) teacher at one of many Tokyo private universities. Will have a look at your pieces about Japanese literature with pleasure, thank you for the info.
    All the best for 2013.

  4. FG

    No offense to your father, but I hope you don’t think I look 92! 🙂 Best wishes for the new year to you too.

    If interested, I have essays surveying Japanese, Chinese, and South Asia Indian literature in my book The Grove of the Eumenides: Essays on Literature, Criticism, and Culture
    https://fglaysher.com/grove_of_the_eumenides.html

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