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The Limits of Ancestral DNA Testing

November 19th, 2009 | Author: admin

Genealogists turn to ancestral DNA testing to answer questions that historical records alone cannot. All people of the world have DNA so it makes sense they would form a large information base about the evolution of humans.

It isn’t necessary to test every member of a family to learn their origins. Women carry mtDNA because they lack the Y chromosome that men have to determine the male gender. Brothers and sisters share the same mtDNA and brothers share the same Y DNA. MtDNA yields information about the maternal line of a family. Mt is short for mitochondria present in both men and women. Y DNA tests the paternal line.

DNA Ancestry – what you can learn:

Do your ancestors originate from Europe, or the farmers from the Middle East? Europeans came from seven maternal clans and DNA ancestry can spot the markers that show the specific area of Europe where your mother’s family originated.

Even if you are Caucasian you may discover a bloodline that points to Africa and the oldest human population from 100,000 years ago. Some of the early tribes are the Bantu, Ibo and Kung.

Native Americans are predominately from Native Americans which migrated from the Old World. Native Americans today seek to know which modern tribe they are from and DNA evidence of early tribal migration narrows the focus of an otherwise broad population sample.

Some families today are conducting surname projects to learn the origin of their last name. Whether the name is Jones or Andrianopoulos, families want to know who they are related to around the world.

The human race has been mixing since it evolved in Africa 150,000 years ago. You may find identifying markers from several groups that don’t seem connected because of the constant evolution of families. If you’re looking for many answers to specific questions, proceed with ancestral DNA testing with an open mind.