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"The warning was backed by a number of leading genetics experts. Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics at UCL said: βOn a long trudge through history β two parents, four great-grandparents, and so on β very soon everyone runs out of ancestors and has to share them."
"As a result, almost every Briton is a descendant of Viking hordes, Roman legions, African migrants, Indian Brahmins, or anyone else they fancy.β
"The amount of DNA any individual inherits from relatives just a few steps up their family tree is negligible compared with the vast amount we all share from common ancestors.
"It means any ancestral "history" identified by a simple genetic test is just one of dozens of possible interpretations, and to try to trace our lineage directly through our genes is "absurd", they claimed."
I never really said any differently. In fact, I've always been the first to say the ethnicity report is only an estimate and should not be taken literally because there is no DNA which is totally unique to one small region of a continent (apart from isolated communities like islanders). I'm always explaining to people that there will be variations between companies, as they all have different sample groups and analyses. That doesn't mean the ethnicity report is "absurd", just that it's important to understand how it works and take it for what it is, not for what you want it to be. Plus, the ethnicity reports have improved over the last 4 years when this article was written.
And none of this has any meaning regarding the comment about being "related to Richard III" - which again, none of the main companies do anymore. When 23andMe did do it in the past, it was based on mt and Y haplogroups, not autosomal DNA, which is where the ethnicity reports come from. So you're talking about two different things here.
Lots of families have been perpetuating "white lies" in their families for entire generations, for a variety of reasons, including shame, pride, and even racism - particularly in the southeast USA.
Some families want to know the "truth", others really don't want to know....lol
Agreed. Whites in the south tend to be descendants of immigrants that arrived long before the Civil War or even the Revolutionary War. Whites up north are more likely to be "ethnic" with parents, grandparents or great-grandparents that come from Europe. Not to bring politics into this, but Donald Trump is a good example. His rhetoric has a nativist/nationalist slant and yet his mom is from Scotland and all of his grandparents are from Europe. Hardly any white southerners his age have backgrounds like that.
Southern whites are much more likely to have Africans on their family tree, but Big Mama feels better saying that her great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess (and it's always Cherokee...never Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, Comanche, Caddo etc.).
It's also about a sense of ownership. When southerners or conservatives speak on the need to restrict immigration and banning Muslims from certain nations, liberals quickly point out the hypocrisy of such thinking considering how Native Americans were treated by white settlers in their own land. However, if one can say "I'm 1/8th Cherokee", it's like a shield against allegations of bigotry. That you and your ancestors and descendants have ultimate rights to the land as Americans and should feel no guilt over questioning other's patriotism.
Curious about these DNA tests: if I'm Italian on both sides (mother & father) and their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were all Italians from Italy and I had a DNA test done wouldn't it show that I was 100% Italian? Or does this test pull up some random great great great grandparent that maybe moved from Greece to Italy 200 years ago?
Curious about these DNA tests: if I'm Italian on both sides (mother & father) and their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were all Italians from Italy and I had a DNA test done wouldn't it show that I was 100% Italian?
No.
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Originally Posted by chiluvr1228
Or does this test pull up some random great great great grandparent that maybe moved from Greece to Italy 200 years ago?
This is an overly simplified way of explaining it but it's somewhat correct. If you were to take the test from Ancestry.com it wouldn't reveal Italian vs Greek ancestry because the geneticists at Ancestry.com have determined that Italians and the Greeks share similar genetics so they are grouped together. However, they have determined that there is significant genetic difference between Italians and the British.
So lets say 200 years ago one of your ancestors was 100% British and they migrated to Italy and had children with someone that was Italian, that British ancestry will likely show up in your DNA. It all depends on which parts of the DNA your parents inherited from their parents and ultimately what your parents have passed on to you.
Curious about these DNA tests: if I'm Italian on both sides (mother & father) and their parents and grandparents and great-grandparents were all Italians from Italy and I had a DNA test done wouldn't it show that I was 100% Italian?
Probably not. Southern Italians in particular often get results in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Iberian is also possible. Northern Italians can get some results in Western Europe too.
Quote:
Or does this test pull up some random great great great grandparent that maybe moved from Greece to Italy 200 years ago?
More likely it's representative of about 1000 years ago. But it's not a precise timeline. All it really does is tell you "this percentage of your DNA most closely matched our sample groups for this category". Sample groups come from modern people in those areas, who have a known full ancestry in that area too. Because there's been so much mixing between neighboring regions over history, it's unlikely for anyone to be 100% anything.
Additionally, it's not possible to tell Italians and Greeks apart, they are normally lumped into the same category.
My various DNA tests / haplogroup identification place me in this Niall grouping. Though it's never something I make reference to. After all, there was the surprising suggestion I'm 0.5% Ashkenazi Jew as well.
Southern whites are much more likely to have Africans on their family tree, but Big Mama feels better saying that her great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess (and it's always Cherokee...never Creek, Choctaw, Seminole, Comanche, Caddo etc.).
Oh God, yes. I have heard this from sooooo many people. I wasn't aware that Cherokees were lighter-skinned though than the other tribes. With all the other native tribes, why is it always Cherokee and none of the others? I too heard the Cherokee story.
Also, lots of Americans say "I'm Irish". As if they are 100% Irish and have Irish nationality. But they don't. They have some great-great-great with an Irish surname or they have freckles or maybe red hair.
It's irritating and I wish they would say "I'm an American of Irish descent" because that's correct, instead of claiming a nationality that isn't theirs.
Oh God, yes. I have heard this from sooooo many people. I wasn't aware that Cherokees were lighter-skinned though than the other tribes. With all the other native tribes, why is it always Cherokee and none of the others? I too heard the Cherokee story.
Also, lots of Americans say "I'm Irish". As if they are 100% Irish and have Irish nationality. But they don't. They have some great-great-great with an Irish surname or they have freckles or maybe red hair.
It's irritating and I wish they would say "I'm an American of Irish descent" because that's correct, instead of claiming a nationality that isn't theirs.
It's just quicker and easier to say "I'm Irish" than "I'm an American of Irish descent", no one is claiming it's their nationality.
My biggest complaint is Ancestry got the sample a few days ago....and no report yet. In tv they get the results right away!!
Yes, I'm joking...sort of. Patience is not one of my virtues....
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