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The Ancestry.com DNA samples cite broad, and often unrelated regions (Cameroon to Congo). These are no more accurate than are the documents in determining specific ethnic origins.
I suggest that people focus on probably regions of origin and quite pretending that they are the "descendant of the Yoruba tribe". These groups have inter mixed with each other and the DNA samples don't focus on specific ethnic origins in Africa either.
So I am 29% Benin/Togo. What does that mean given that this description doesn't make historical sense? Parts of Benin were integrated into what we would now call SW Nigeria. Parts of Togo are integrated into Ghana east of the Volta River, which is an important dividing line between various groups. So I have no way of knowing whether this reflects Ewe, Fon, Yoruba or some other ethnicity, or whether these ancestors were dragged in from what is now Burkina Faso.
While you have a point, regions can still nail one in the ballpark. A dude on another forum compared Ancestry DNA results with slave records of the county of origin of those with results. A lot of it consistent. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans had high percentages of DNA matches with those in Senegambia. This reflects historical records of Spanish slave trading with Senegambia. Of course, there were slaves who were trading between colonies, but DNA for the most part can reflect the documentation of slave imports from a specific region of West/Central Africa.
While you have a point, regions can still nail one in the ballpark. A dude on another forum compared Ancestry DNA results with slave records of the county of origin of those with results. A lot of it consistent. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans had high percentages of DNA matches with those in Senegambia. This reflects historical records of Spanish slave trading with Senegambia. Of course, there were slaves who were trading between colonies, but DNA for the most part can reflect the documentation of slave imports from a specific region of West/Central Africa.
Yes, aside from Cuba, which has a very different history of the slave trade, the Senegambia and Congo/Angola region accounted for the majority of slaves shipped to those societies. One factor that complicates this a bit is that many slaves were also shipped via Curacao and other islands, once the Dutch, British, and French became the largest slave traders in the Caribbean.
Well DNA is far more of a better guess to use as a starting point than where they sailed from since African tribes conquered and moved slaves over different regions (all that were sailed out obviously ending up on the coast somewhere).
Also keep in mind like most European Americans (or European sides of African American's heritage) they are almost always more than just one ethnicity. In the US people mixed heavily and even on the other side of the ocean they did as well. If someone comes up 23% German/France then it's entirely likely they have some German or French ancestry (even if it's it a bit far back) and this also can reveal slightly more ancient DNA admixture as well, but that doesn't remove it.
African Americans I would expect would be a combination of multiple DNA regions and tribes with a few exceptions maybe. You're not trying to nail down on match but multiple matches to modern populations which give you an idea of your ancient population matches.
You do know that DNA sampling in various African regions consists of as few as 50 people. These are randomly selected, based on who is now living there, and not who lived there in the 18th C when most slaves were traded.
So the DNA provides an VAGUE INDICATOR of a region as defined by the DNA testers. For the Cameroon/Congo region a few score people were selected. The peoples who live in Congo, north of the Congo River, have no more to do with those who live in SE Nigeria than do Greeks have anything in common with Germans. Yet they are grouped together. The peoples who live south of the Congo River are classified with assorted hunter gatherers of southern Africa.
I am 19% Cameroon/Congo (which also encompasses SE Nigeria). So what does this mean? I am Congo, or SE Nigeria/Cameroons? Two very distinct regions, which should NEVER have been classified together, and wouldn't have been had those who designed these boundaries had any knowledge of the internal migrations within Africa, and the sources of slaves into the Americas.
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You do know that DNA sampling in various African regions consists of as few as 50 people. These are randomly selected, based on who is now living there, and not who lived there in the 18th C when most slaves were traded.
So the DNA provides an VAGUE INDICATOR of a region as defined by the DNA testers. For the Cameroon/Congo region a few score people were selected. The peoples who live in Congo, north of the Congo River, have no more to do with those who live in SE Nigeria than do Greeks have anything in common with Germans. Yet they are grouped together. The peoples who live south of the Congo River are classified with assorted hunter gatherers of southern Africa.
I am 19% Cameroon/Congo (which also encompasses SE Nigeria). So what does this mean? I am Congo, or SE Nigeria/Cameroons? Two very distinct regions, which should NEVER have been classified together, and wouldn't have been had those who designed these boundaries had any knowledge of the internal migrations within Africa, and the sources of slaves into the Americas.
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You're right, Angola/Congo would be a much better group. Angola is supposed to be the country where most African American slaves come from but with the way these test is done, it doesn't even appear in the answers.
John Punch a slave who is an eleventh-generation maternal grandfather of Barack Obama is said to be of Cameroonian ancestry but in early 17th century there weren't slaves from Cameroon and other researchers believe it was Angolan because the first slaves taken by English colonists were stolen from Portuguese ships.
That is correct,I don't resemble my dna results much,im very west African at 23andme,but I sure love west Africa so internally it's there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppalachianGumbo
Just an FYI, people should not gauge their appearance based on autosomal DNA admixture tests. The regions which are tested or rather reported are non-coding regions of the DNA which are not "genes." These are DNA sequences. There are only small regions at specific locus regions that show small differences across populations. Only 10% of our DNA is genes and only 1% of genes is for phenotype.
You're right, Angola/Congo would be a much better group. Angola is supposed to be the country where most African American slaves come from but with the way these test is done, it doesn't even appear in the answers.
John Punch a slave who is an eleventh-generation maternal grandfather of Barack Obama is said to be of Cameroonian ancestry but in early 17th century there weren't slaves from Cameroon and other researchers believe it was Angolan because the first slaves taken by English colonists were stolen from Portuguese ships.
John Punch was initially an indentured servant, not a slave. He was made a slave by the court system.
You do know that DNA sampling in various African regions consists of as few as 50 people. These are randomly selected, based on who is now living there, and not who lived there in the 18th C when most slaves were traded.
So the DNA provides an VAGUE INDICATOR of a region as defined by the DNA testers. For the Cameroon/Congo region a few score people were selected. The peoples who live in Congo, north of the Congo River, have no more to do with those who live in SE Nigeria than do Greeks have anything in common with Germans. Yet they are grouped together. The peoples who live south of the Congo River are classified with assorted hunter gatherers of southern Africa.
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This is why these ancestry tests are meaningless. I'll never take one.
I've always been much more interested in following paper trails.
This is why these ancestry tests are meaningless. I'll never take one.
I've always been much more interested in following paper trails.
Keep in mind that there's an entirely different use for DNA tests than ethnicity. You can find confirmed cousin matches, find shared segments across multiple people (meaning you all share the same ancestor somewhere) and then use that to identify where that DNA came from. It has been used by *many* people (including myself) to break down brick walls where paper trail isn't enough alone.
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