TWO thirds of European men can trace their ancestry back to just three tribal warlords from the early Bronze Age, geneticists claim.

Scientists from across the continent took DNA samples from 334 randomly chosen men in 17 groups, including 20 from Orkney and the same again from England.

By sequencing the Y chromosomes the researchers discovered that the three most common lineages, found in 64 per cent of men, converged much later than previously thought.

Of the 20 Englishmen, 16 came from a a single genetic group which goes back to one man who was born around 3000BC.

They claimed that in the changing world of the early Bronze Age male warlords could have spread their offspring far and wide and founded robust dynasties to protect them.

Chiara Batini, the post-doctoral researcher at the University of Leicester, who led the study, said: "You can imagine very easily a scenario in which there are a few men who are more powerful.

"They have easier access to wealth and other resources such as food, they will probably have more kids, the male kids have the same kind of benefits so those lineages will be more dominant."

In a similar 'common ancestor' project from 2001 genetics professor Bryan Sykes from Oxford University claimed there were seven 'clan mothers' from whom all human beings were descended.

One theory claims Genghis Khan and his family are the ancestors of every one in 200 men alive.