ENIGMA OF BASQUE COUNTRY PEOPLE WITH AN ISOLATED CULTURE,

YES, DIFFERENT DNA, LANGUAGE AND YET WITH ISLAMIC INFLUENCE.

The ancient history of Basque people is still under research. Islam had spread over in Spain as well as parts of France, so it was natural that this county, between thee two countries, would receive Islamic influence in one way or the other. A dress code different from Europe was there in the 16th century and there is pictorial record of it. In any case research work starts from a little inkling and spreads else where. People with intact ancient language and different DNA, blood grouping is worthy of research, and it is being done. Researchers say:

“With their distinct genetic make-up and ancient language, the origin of

people from the Basque Country in northern Spain and southern France has long been an enigma. Previously thought to be a population of unmixed hunter-gatherers that survived the influx of farmers from the Middle East around 6,000 years ago, new genetic evidence suggests that things aren’t quite so clear-cut.

Instead, it appears that the Basques’ closest ancestors are early Iberian farmers who were descended from that first wave of Neolithic farmers, which then mixed with the local hunter-gatherers. The researchers think that the Basque people’s unique characteristics survived in isolation as, after this first initial mingling of hunter-gatherers and farmers, the Basque people became separated from subsequent waves of farmers, first from the East then from the South, and continued instead to mix further with the local hunter-gatherers.’

Probably the influence was there in Lahore from Turkish influx, but the Xavier could have brought it fresh from Basque itself.