Is there a Basque Blood Type?

Is there a Basque Blood Type?


Here is what Mark Kurlansky writes on the matter:

[Excerpt from The Basque History of the World]
Basques have the highest concentration of type O in the world — more than 50 percent of the population — with an even higher percentage in remote areas where the language is best preserved, such as Soule. Most of the rest are type A. Type B is extremely rare among Basques. With the finding that Irish, Scots, Corsicans, and Cretans also have an unusually high incidence of type O, speculation ran wild that these peoples were somehow related to Basques. But then, in 1937, came the discovery of the rhesus factor, more commonly known as Rh positive or Rh negative. Basques were found to have the highest incidence of Rh negative blood of any people in the world, significantly higher than the rest of Europe, even significantly higher than neighboring regions of France and Spain. Cro-Magnon theorists point out that other places known to have been occupied by Cro-Magnon man, such as the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the Canary Islands, also have been found to have a high incidence of Rh negative.
Twenty-seven percent of Basques have O Rh negative blood. Rh negative blood in a pregnant woman can fatally poison a fetus that has positive blood. Since World War II, intervention techniques to save the fetus have been developed, but it is probable that throughout history, the rate of miscarriage and stillborn births among the Basques was extremely high, which may be one of the reasons they remained a small population on a limited amount of land while other populations, especially in Iberia, grew rapidly.

The occurrence of Rh negative blood is so inexplicable that some even see it as originating from extraterrestrials!
I understand that the Basques may seem strange to people and a bit of a mystery, but linking them to aliens is kind of a stretch. I’ve heard all sorts of other theories about the Basques: they’re descended from Noah of the Ark, or the Basque language was spoken by Adam and Eve or originating from the Tower of Babel, or that the Basques are the survivors of the lost city of Atlantis!
Whatever theory you subscribe to, there are no shortage of resources where you can learn more about the Basques. Here are some of the other recommendations from our Facebook discussion:

• Guernica by Dave Boling
  
• A Book of the Basques by Rodney Gallop
  
• In a Hundred Graves: A Basque Portrait by Robert Laxalt
  
• Buber’s Basque Page
  
• University of Nevada Reno’s Center for Basque Studies — free book downloads available
  

What other traits make the Basques unique? What resources would you recommend to people looking to learn more about the Basques? Let us know in the comments.




https://youtu.be/OtN7IrclLV8


https://www.hellabasque.org/basque-blood-type/


Thanks to: https://www.hellabasque.org