Antonio Arnaiz-Villena facts for kids

Antonio Arnaiz-Villena is a Spanish scientist who studies the human body's defense system, called immunology. He is known for his research into the genetic history of different groups of people. He also has some ideas about ancient languages that are not widely accepted by other experts.

About Antonio Arnaiz-Villena

Antonio Arnaiz-Villena was a leader in the field of immunology in Spain. He was the president of Spain's National Society of Immunology from 1991 to 1995. He has written more than 300 scientific papers. These papers cover topics like immunology and the genetics of human and bird populations.

He used to be the head of the Immunology Department at the Complutense University of Madrid. He is now a full professor and chairman at the same department. In 2009, he also worked at Hospital 12 de Octubre.

In 2010, he was invited to give a lecture at The French Academy of Sciences. In 2011, he gave another lecture at The Royal Society in London. In 2014, he and four other people received an award. This award was given by Queen Sofía of Spain at the Spanish Senate. It celebrated 35 years of the Law on Transplantations.

Research on People's Origins

Jewish and Palestinian Genetics

Arnaiz-Villena's research became well-known after he published a paper in 2001. This paper was about the genetic history of Jewish people and Palestinians. The study suggested that Israeli Jews and Palestinians have strong genetic connections. This idea caused a lot of discussion.

Because of many complaints, the paper was removed from the scientific journal Human Immunology. It was also deleted from the scientific archives. People who had already received the journal were asked to remove the pages with the article. This was a very unusual step in scientific publishing. The journal's editor said that parts of the article were "extreme political writing." Arnaiz-Villena disagreed with this description. After this, he was removed from the journal's editorial board.

Some scientists did not agree with the journal's decision. Andrew Goffey, a lecturer in England, noted that the article was not removed because of its science. He said he found nothing offensive in the paper. Several scientists wrote to the publishers to support Arnaiz-Villena. They protested the journal's strong actions. One scientist said that if the paper had shown Jewish people were "genetically very special," no one would have objected.

Greek and Sub-Saharan African Genetics

Arnaiz-Villena and his team published several papers about the Greek population. They claimed that Greeks originally came from Sub-Saharan Africa. They suggested that many Sub-Saharans moved to Greece during Minoan times. This was long before Classical or Mycenaean Greece.

Other scientists have disagreed with these findings. For example, Sforza, Menozzi, and Piazza grouped Greeks with other European and Mediterranean people. They did this based on many genetic markers. Another study in 2003 also grouped Greeks with other European populations. A 2004 study used Arnaiz-Villena's methods but found no Sub-Saharan African genes in Greek samples.

Other research has also found very few Sub-Saharan African genes in Greece. One study found only one African gene in a sample of 366 Greeks. This is the only time Sub-Saharan DNA has been found in Greece in such studies.

Experts like Jobling and others say that Arnaiz-Villena's ideas about Greeks coming from Sub-Saharan Africa are based on wrong interpretations. They also say his methods are not suitable for this kind of research. Three well-known geneticists, Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Alberto Piazza, and Neil Risch, also criticized Arnaiz-Villena's methods. They said that using only one genetic marker to understand family histories is not reliable. They pointed out that his results, like Greeks being similar to Ethiopians, go against history and geography. Arnaiz-Villena and his team responded that using single markers is common in their field.

A study in 2017 looked at the origins of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. It found no clear African influence in these ancient Greek cultures. This study did not support the idea that cultures in the Aegean Sea came from migrants from older civilizations in Africa.

Mesoamerican Origins

Arnaiz-Villena also helped write a paper about the origins of people in Mesoamerican areas. This paper suggested that people living there before Christopher Columbus came from many different groups. The paper argued that the peopling of the Americas was more complex than some theories suggested.

Ethnic Macedonian Genetics

Arnaiz-Villena and his team published two papers about ethnic Macedonians. They claimed that ethnic Macedonians are closely related to Mediterranean people. They suggested they were most similar to Cretan Greeks, but not to other Greeks.

Ideas About Ancient Languages

Arnaiz-Villena and Jorge Alonso-Garcia have made claims about ancient languages. They say they used the Basque language to understand many old languages from the Mediterranean and Middle East. These languages include Egyptian, Hittite, and Sumerian. Most experts believe these languages are not related to Basque.

Arnaiz-Villena and Alonso-Garcia believe that other experts have misunderstood and mistranslated these languages for a long time. They have even claimed to have deciphered parts of the Rosseta Stone and the Code of Hammurabi using Basque. However, their interpretations are very different from what most linguists and historians accept. For example, they claim the Code of Hammurabi is a Basque funeral text, not a set of laws.

They also claim to be able to read languages that are very hard to understand, like Etruscan and Minoan. Most experts have not been able to decipher these languages with certainty. Arnaiz-Villena and Alonso-Garcia suggest these languages are part of a larger language family called "Usko-Mediterranean." This idea goes against what most experts in Egyptian, Sumerian, and other ancient languages believe.

Many experts have strongly criticized their work. Javier de Hoz said their work "lacks the slightest value." He called it "an unmitigated disaster." He also pointed out that some of the Basque words they used in their translations are actually modern words or borrowed from other languages. This means they cannot be used to understand ancient connections.

See also

In Spanish: Antonio Arnaiz Villena para niños