DNA Project Results and Discussion

Lineage V The Anglo/Norman D’Arcy Line

Though not closely matched to each other, the haplotypes of Lineages I – IV include a large number of markers typical of English or Irish origin and have all been estimated by the Family Tree DNA Lab at the University of Arizona to belong to the R1b Haplogroup.  Several members have had additional testing that confirms this assignment.  It is generally believed that populations bearing the R1b Haplogroup arrived in Spain from the east about 30,000 years ago among the Paleolithic or "old stone age" peoples considered to be indigenous to Europe.  Populations of R1b are believed to have sheltered in the Iberian Peninsula during the last glacial maximum then expanded throughout Europe as the ice receded about ten to twelve thousand years ago.¹   The frequency of this Haplogroup increases from east to west across Europe with its highest concentration along the Atlantic façade--including the British Isles.  In fact, R1b is found in nearly 100% of natives of western Ireland.²

Interestingly, however, the members of Lineage V present marker profiles (Table V-1) typically found in the E3b Haplogroup, a Haplogroup which is believed to have originated in eastern Africa 24-27,000 years ago.³ Several members of Lineage V have also had additional testing to confirm this haplogroup assignment.  According to Dennis Garvey ⁴ , the STR haplotypes of these D’Arcys most likely belong to an E3b cluster described and designated as the E-M78-alpha cluster by Cruciani et al. ⁵    The E-M78-alpha cluster is found in relatively high percentages (20--32%) in the Balkan countries of Eastern Europe.  Its distribution, which diminishes toward the west in Europe, suggests it began in the Balkans and expanded into southern Europe in Neolithic times ⁶ —long after their R1b brothers had arrived there.  The E3b Haplogroup is found in low frequencies in England and even more rarely in Ireland. ⁷   However, there are anecdotal hints that the E3b Haplogroup may appear with increased frequency among those with Anglo-Norman surnames, many of whom are said to descend from companions of William the Conqueror.