The skeleton of the last Mazovian prince Janusz III (1502 - 1526) was found to have the R1b haplogroup which is prevalent in Western Europe and reaching the 80% level in the male population of some areas, but only acounts for about 10% in the Slavic lands. Dr Tomasz Kozłowski of the Toruń University says more research is needed to say for sure if this oldest dynasty of Poland, people who were founders of the Polish state in 966, were of Germanic or Celtic origins.
The R1b haplogroup is often called Celtic or Atlantic wheras the R1a is referred to as Slavic. Since the preservation of the remnants was poor, it was not possible to point to a more specific variant of the R1b haplogroup in Janusz III, however. The findings do not support the theory of the Viking origin of the dynasty nor their import from the Great Moravia. In Scandinavia the predominant haplogroup is I2, often referred to as the "old-European" one.
The R1b haplogroup is characteristic for other royal houses of Europe such as the Wettins, the Hapsburgs, the Bourbons and the Stuarts.
The R1b haplogroup is often called Celtic or Atlantic wheras the R1a is referred to as Slavic. Since the preservation of the remnants was poor, it was not possible to point to a more specific variant of the R1b haplogroup in Janusz III, however. The findings do not support the theory of the Viking origin of the dynasty nor their import from the Great Moravia. In Scandinavia the predominant haplogroup is I2, often referred to as the "old-European" one.
The R1b haplogroup is characteristic for other royal houses of Europe such as the Wettins, the Hapsburgs, the Bourbons and the Stuarts.