The northern part of the Santones' country, ancient Aunis was covered by a dense forest named Argenson situated at the border with the Pictavi. This area was thus populated later than the whole region which had been inhabited by modern men since paleolithic times. Modern Charente-Maritime knew an intense human activity in the Neolithic : this was the civilization of Peu-Richard, characterized by circular fortresses. Read a summary by Maju about a study dealing with aDNA collected in a village in Deux-Sèvres, close to our area : "Megalithic aDNA from Charente Maritime".

- Echantillon représentatif / Sample :
Taille réelle / Full Scale- Analyse anthropologique sommaire / Brief anthropological analysis :
- Type 1 : Complexion claire (cheveux bruns blonds, yeux parfois gris/verts, ...), leptomorphique, menton pointu, long nez implanté haut et convexe, oreilles décollées, yeux rapprochés
~ Atlantide dinaromorphique
Light complexion (blonde hair, grey/green eyes, ...), leptomorphic, pointy chin, high-rooted and long convex nose, flappy ears, close-set eyes
~ Dinaromorphic Atlantid


Nous sommes ici dans une variabilité atlantique classique déjà appréhendée ici même, même si le phénotype n'est pas aussi dominant qu'il peut l'être ailleurs, par exemple en Vendée. On rencontre bien évidemment des individus de complexion plus foncée.
This is a classical Atlantic variability. Still, it's not as prevailing as in other areas such as Vendée. Undoubtedly enough, darker individuals are found as well.

A vrai dire, la région semble plutôt dominée par un type plus robuste : complexion foncée, nez plus large, face plus large, yeux parfois assez distants, yeux marrons/verts, ...
Actually, this area seems to be dominated by a more robust type : dark complexion, a larger nose, a larger face, sometimes rather distanced eyes, chestnut/green eyes, ...



- Type 2 : Complexion intermédiaire (cheveux châtains, yeux verts-gris, ...), brachymorphique, tête ronde, petit nez épaté, yeux étroits et éloignés
~ Alpin
Intermediate complexion (chustnet hair, green-grey eyes, ...), brachymorphic, rounded head, little puffy nose, narrow and wide-set eyes
~ Alpinoid



Il s'agit d'un type classique de la France de l'Ouest, rencontré fréquemment entre Loire et Gironde. La caractère sombre de ces individus et la prédominance de ce type parmi les femmes tend à prouver des convergences avec le Haut Poitou.
This is a classical type in Western France, abundantly found inbetween the Loire and the Gironde rivers. The prevalence of dark individuals, particularly amongst women, tends to prove convergences with High Poitou.
- Morphotypes finaux / Final morphotypes :
Did you chose this district because of the recent ancient mtDNA analysis at a local megalith?
ReplyDeleteWell, in any case, I'd say that C6 looks as bearing some African admixture to me. While you classify her as "Dinaromorphic Atlantic", she is the only one in that group displaying marked prognathism, not to mention skin tone. Not 100% sure but still...
This detail aside, the sample displays some rather marked Vascoid affinity (BI: 10) also showing some extreme dinaromorphic individuals with protruding narrow but large noses (not all within the Basque phenotype range anyhow). Otherwise they look more "Mediterranean" than "Nordic", though there is also a minor "Nordic" tendency.
Indeed I was inspired by your post but I had finished that sample for a long time, I just had the idea to upload it.
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