This haplogroup first emerges in the EarlyBronze Age in Britain and Ireland, where the earliest samples begin to appear. Its introduction was part of a large genetic transformation associated with theBell Beaker culture, whereinsteppe descended peoples largely replaced Britain's earlierNeolithic population. The lineage reached a frequency of 90% in early Bronze Age Britain (being nearly absent in contemporary samples from the continent), it gradually declined through the Middle Bronze Age to 70% by theIron Age (due to continental migrations which also increased the levels ofEEF admixture among Britons).[note 1] It later fell to its modern levels in Britain after theAnglo-Saxon invasions. However, it still remains the dominant lineage inIreland,Scotland,Brittany andWales.
The body of a man excavated from Canada Farm,Sixpenny Handley,Dorset dating from 2468 to 2294 BC was found to be R-L21.[note 2]
The body of a man[note 3] found inLow Hauxley,Northumberland, dating from 2464 to 2209 BC, was classified as R1b1a1a2a1a2c1a1n (R-DF13 > R-Z39589 > R-FGC59881 > R-BY577 > R-BY575).[3]
'Racton Man' found inWestbourne, West Sussex, England, dating from 2453 to 2146 BC and buried with a bronze dagger was classified as R-L21.[note 4]
The Companion[note 5] (dating to 2456‒2146 BC, aged 25–30), buried beside theAmesbury Archer[note 6] (dating to 2470‒2239 BC, aged 35–45), found nearStonehenge, belonged to R-L21. The archer (identified only asR-L151) may have been buried up to 80 years before the companion (although there is overlap in the dates) and was a kinsman (both shared a calcaneonavicular coalition on their feet), with a predictedrelatedness coefficient of 0.0405 (95% confidence interval of -0.0161 to 0.0971). The isotopic profiles of the men indicate the archer spent the earliest years of his life inthe Alps,[4] near modern Switzerland, and had higher levels of Neolithic ancestry compared to the companion who had spent his life in Britain but may have spent his early teens in North East Scotland or the Midlands.[5] The archer possessed above averageEEF admixture of 45% whereas the companion had around 33%, more in line with other British samples of the Early Bronze Age. Another man,[note 7] also buried in Amesbury Down and dating from 2500 to 2100 BC was also R-L21[note 8] and is notable of having an EEF admixture of only 22%, the lowest ever found in Britain.[6]
A body of a man dating from around 2349-2135 BC found inPollnagollum,[note 9] Ireland was classified asR-DF13 > R-FGC11134, a predominantly Irish subclade in modern populations and ancestral to theEóganachta. Another body found in Treanmacmurtagh,[note 10]County Sligo,Ireland, dating from 2015 to 1758 BC was also classified as R-FGC11134.[7]
'Ditchling Man', dating from 2287 to 2041 BC, found in Ditchling Road,Sussex and buried with a pottery beaker, arrowhead & shells. He was classified as R-Z290, the immediate parent of R-L21.[note 11]
ThreeEarly Bronze Age men from burials onRathlin Island off the north coast of Ireland were all R1b1a2a1a2c, or R-L21. Rathlin 1 dated from 2026 to 1885 BC and was defined as R-DF21. Rathlin 2 dated from 2024 to 1741 BC and was defined as further defined as R-DF13. Rathlin 3 dated from 1736 to 1534 BC and was defined as R-L21.[8]
TheHouse of Stuart who ruled asKings of Scotland from 1371 and then, additionally, asKings of England andIreland from 1603 until 1714. According to the Stewart DNA Project they lie under the subcladeR1b-L21 > DF13 > Z39589 > DF41/S524 > Z43690 > S775 > L746 > S781. They are ultimately ofBreton origin.[citation needed]
TheEoganacht and their close relatives, theUí Fidgenti, whom they have a corresponding genetic and genealogical relationship to (via their shared descent fromAilill Flann Bec). They possessed the mutationL21>>DF13>FGC11134>>>>>CTS4466>>>>A541. They wereKings of Munster from around 400 AD until they were deposed by their former vassals, the Dál gCais in the 10th century. Septs include theO'Sullivan Lords ofBeare, the O'Mahony Lords ofKinalmeaky and others. The descendants ofCellachán Caisil, their last great king in Munster before this deposition have however shown to belong to an entirely separate lineage. His descendants included theO'Callaghans (Lords of Cineál Aodha) andMac Carthys (Kings of Desmond,Earl of Clancarty etc.). These belonged to the lineageL21>>DF13>DF21>>>>>Z16534.[10]
Louis Riel (1844-1885), who descends from the subcladeL21>>DF13>ZZ10_1>>Z2534>>>L226>>>>>>> DC21, being a descendent of theDalcassian clan. This was demonstrated through a relative who can be found in the R-L226 project who descends from Louis' ancestor, Jean-Baptiste Riel (1731 - 1788). The Riel family ultimately traced its origins from aJacobite soldier, Jean Baptiste Riel (abt. 1663 - 1753), who leftLimerick,Ireland forFrance in 1696. The name may have been a transmutation of the Irish name O'Reilly.[citation needed]
Che Guevara (1928-1967), the Argentine Marxist revolutionary and major figure of the Cuban Revolution, forensic identification of his skeletal remains revealed that he belonged to haplogroup R1b-L21.[14]
