nicola-sturgeon-Scottish-independence-779314

April 25, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum

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nicola-sturgeon-Scottish-independence-779314

What do you know about Scottish people? If you can bring any stereotypes to mind you might think that they're mean.... or miserly or bad-tempered.... or a bit too fond of a drink.... but you'd be wrong (well on the first two anyway!) Okay, so what does a Scot look like? I'd hazard a guess that the movie 'Braveheart' has colored your views on that, and again you would be wrong... at least at this point in history! Scotland is the birthplace of a whole host of famous people - heroes, politicians, artists, scientists, performers and more. For a little country, we've produced some BIG names! Scottish People - The Original 'Melting Pot' Unless you've done your research on this little country's history, you might not know that today's Scots are the descendants of people from many different countries. The people who were native to Scotland in it's very early days were the Picts. The name translates to 'Painted People - a reference to their custom of painting/tattooing their bodies. This was a warlike Celtic tribe descended from this area's indigenous Iron Age inhabitants. The Picts were conquered by the first invaders to land on their shores - the Irish Celts. Pictish culture left no written records, only some eerily impressive stone monuments and carvings. This means that a lot of what historians believe about the Picts is based on a few artifacts, scant records, and a fair amount of conjecture and guesswork. So, here's another real-life taste of Scotland's magic... an almost mythical war-painted race who disappeared into the mists of time leaving hardly a trace of their existence. Perfect. The Irish were the first invaders, but they most definitely weren't the last. Then the Viking invader in Longships came. Over hundreds of years, Scotland was invaded by Vikings (from Scandinavian countries including Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Also known as the Norse). Then there were the Romans and the English. For a long time this was believed to be the melting pot from which all present day Scottish people are descended. But recent DNA research done at Edinburgh University and St. Andrew's University shows a much more diverse genetic pool. They found DNA from African races (most likely due to the 18th century slave trade) as well as Asia and several other European countries, and now believe that today's Scots are descended from almost 100 different ethnic groups. 'Astonishing and unique' is how the University spokesman described it. I'll just say 'melting pot!' The Scottish clan system (a 'tribal' structure) spread across much of Scotland from the Highlands centuries ago. Most Scots can trace their ancestry back to a specific clan. It's fascinating stuff! If you're researching your genetic history or have Scottish ancestors, your family tree may just have got a whole lot more complicated (and interesting). You can see the influence of many countries and cultures in Scottish names, both 'first' names (forenames) and 'last' names (surnames). Scots Don't All Have Red Hair! Of course people from specific countries often share some physical characteristics in a very broad sense (ie. skin color, eye or lip shape, hair texture and so on) but there's so much more to physical looks than those basic elements.

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