Icelandic roots and identities: Genealogies, DNA, & personal names (Gisli Palsson)
Channel: Genetic Genealogy Ireland
Date: 2018-10-11

Gisli is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Iceland. He will be talking about the genealogical database The Book of Icelanders and the DNA testing of the people of Iceland. Interestingly, these have helped reconstruct the genome of a runaway Caribbean slave who became an Icelandic merchant in the early 1800s. Gisli will discuss the quest of his descendants for roots and identity, a common desire for many people interested in family history. Genetic research shows that there are significant Irish signatures in the genetic makeup of modern Icelanders, thanks to Norse travels through Ireland. Gisli will compare and contrast the approach to (and interest in) genealogy in Iceland and Ireland.

This lecture was made possible by the kind support of CITIGEN, a HERA Project. CITIGEN is an international collaborative research project that looks at the uses of modern and ancient genomic data in shaping public understandings of the past and our individual and collective identities. 

This lecture was presented at Genetic Genealogy Ireland 2017 in Dublin. Please note that these GGI2017 videos are copyrighted to the presenter and should only be used for personal study. They are not to be used for any other purpose without the presenter's express permission. Also, please note that because this is a rapidly advancing field, the content may quickly become outdated.

The lectures were sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA (at www.ftdna.com) and organised by Maurice Gleeson, a volunteer from ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy at www.isogg.org). ISOGG volunteers provided free DNA advice and support for members of the public at the conference.