Atlantean (documentary Series)
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''Atlantean'' is a quartet of
documentary films A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill Ni ...
and accompanying book (''The Atlantean Irish'', Lilliput, 2005) by the Irish filmmaker Bob Quinn. The films and the book dismissed as myth the popular belief in origins of the inhabitants of
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and proposed instead that they are part of a common 'Atlantean' culture that includes the western seaboard of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
.


Overview

Quinn focused on various traditional aspects of
Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes the Irish art, art, Music of Ireland, music, Irish dance, dance, Irish mythology, folklore, Irish clothing, traditional clothing, Irish language, language, Irish literature, literature, Irish cuisine, cuisine ...
and argued for their non-Celtic nature. One aspect that he stressed is the role of
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
in
Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
society, where his films were made. Quinn investigated the history of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
sea lanes A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined ...
from the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
to as far south as the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. Quinn suggested that Ireland's first inhabitants came by boat sometime after the end of the last ice age, probably from the warmer, more populous south. As navigation gave rise to coastal settlement over long periods of time, overseas trade and cultural exchanges continued until at least the North African pirates of the 17th century. Those connections can be seen in shipbuilding styles and sailing techniques, such in similarities between the Galway Púcán and the Arab
Dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...
. Another aspect that Quinn focused on is the sean-nós or ''Old Style'' of Irish song and
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. The non- European feel of ''sean-nós'' singing, in particular, has often been commented upon. Quinn originally proposed a North African origin for ''sean-nós'' but later agreed that it is shared by the
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
of
Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...
and thus is an archetypal musical form older than the
Book of Kells The Book of Kells (; ; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illustrated manuscript and Celts, Celtic Gospel book in Latin, containing the Gospel, four Gospels of the New Testament togeth ...
. Quinn argues that
Irish art Irish art is art produced in the island of Ireland, and by artists from Ireland. The term normally includes Irish-born artists as well as expatriates settled in Ireland. Its history starts around 3200 BC with Neolithic stone carvings at the Newg ...
, music and
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
are related to ancient Iberian, Mediterranean and North African cultures, particularly the indigenous
Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...
of
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. According to Quinn, the idea of "Celtic" origins was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
term ''Keltoi'' (Κελτοί) that was used to describe any "barbarian" who was not
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
. The
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
perpetuated the slur until 1707, when Edward Lluyd resurrected it as a compliment. It was taken for granted by
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
antiquarians, who found it a useful way of distinguishing themselves not only from the English but also from the "mere Irish". The term also developed ''
Untermensch ''Untermensch'' (; plural: ''Untermenschen'') is a German language word literally meaning 'underman', 'sub-man', or ' subhuman', which was extensively used by Germany's Nazi Party to refer to their opponents and non- Aryan people they deemed ...
'' resonances (see
Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...
). Quinn developed his ideas into a book: ''The Atlantean Irish: Ireland's oriental and maritime heritage''.
Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...
, a distinguished professor emeritus of European Archaeology and author of ''Facing the Ocean'' (2001), wrote the introduction to Quinn's ''Atlantean Irish'.'


Evidence

The 'Celtic' Origin of the Irish has long been questioned by archaeologists. In recent years, the discovery of
mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
has been used as a method to map the historical migration of mankind's genetic groups. Such genetic tests, conducted in Ireland in 2004, seemed to confirm that the theory of Celtic origins of Ireland's population was genetically unfounded, but recent advances in
genetic testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
, especially recent ancient DNA findings, are giving an almost opposite picture from the older testing interpretations. In earlier tests,
Bryan Sykes Bryan Clifford Sykes (9 September 1947 – 10 December 2020) was a British geneticist and science writer who was a Fellow of Wolfson College and Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford. Sykes published the first repor ...
, a genetic scientist and author of bestseller ''
The Seven Daughters of Eve ''The Seven Daughters of Eve'' is a 2001 semi-fictional book by Bryan Sykes that presents the science of human origin in Africa and their dispersion to a general audience. Sykes explains the principles of genetics and human evolution, the par ...
'', while analysing European DNA groups identified what he called the "Clan of Tara", a genetic group that originated in what is now
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, 17,000 years ago during the Ice Age and spread along the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic seaboards of Continental Europe, Ireland and western Britain. Sykes did not conduct genetic tests in North Africa amongst Berbers.


Criticisms

The Atlantean thesis has not generally been accepted by the Irish academic establishment, which criticises Quinn for his alleged lack of scholarly methodology and the absence of hard evidence to back his theories. Quinn's response is to assert that traditional landlubber methods of scholarship ignore the maritime dimension of
Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...
and can fail to recognise the deeper, more intuitive, links that may exist between cultures and countries. He also asserts that a close-minded, elitist attitude among academics prevents a more sympathetic appraisal of his work. More controversially, he maintains that critics of his work are guilty of an unconscious
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
or, in his own words, of being afraid of the idea that
Irish people The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...
might have 'a touch of the tar' about them.Really Bob, have we all got a 'touch of the tar' in us?
Cathal MacCarthy,
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
, Sunday September 03 2006


See also

*
Federico Krutwig Federico Krutwig Sagredo (Getxo, 15 May 1921 – Bilbao, 15 November 1998) was a Spanish Basque writer, philosopher, politician, and author of several books, with ''Vasconia'' standing out in the political domain for its influence in the early ...
proposed in (1978) a relation among the Basque, Pictish and Guanche languages as remainders of a Western European and North African common culture.


References


Further reading

*Bob Quinn (2005). ''The Atlantean Irish: Ireland's oriental and maritime heritage.'' The Lilliput Press. {{ISBN, 1-84351-024-3.


External links


Conamara.org
Irish history television shows Irish documentary television series Celtic studies 2005 in Ireland 2005 documentary films