RootsChat.Com
General => Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing => Topic started by: Schoch on Sunday 24 January 21 14:34 GMT (UK)
-
I am beginning to realize that DNA is far from an exact science.
My Grandfather was German and his line can be tracked back hundreds of years.
My DNA (Ancestry) showed I was 23% German which seemed to match what one would expect.
However a recent "readjustment" by Ancestry now shows me as only 7% German. After this change I found some of my 3-4th cousins no longer showed a matched with me.
This tells me that things change depending on the formula used and results should only be taken a a guide, not hard fact.
-
My Ethnicity Estimate varies from Site to Site.
The important word is’Estimate’, because each Site is comparing you on their database,and making their estimate based on that.
Romilly.
-
I understand the issue regarding "estimates", it's the degree of change from 23% down to 7% by the same organization in less than a month. In my book that is not an estimate, it's a complete miss. ???
-
There are a couple of things to consider here. The ethnicity estimates are based on control groups. These groups vary by company and are dependent on the size of the sample group. Generally these estimates are not a good indicator of your historical origins. They are a better indicator of where you match controls groups "today", not 100 years ago. If your ancestors moved over the course of generations then your "origin" may have moved as indicated by the Ethnicity estimate. Haplogroups are a better determination of where you started. Also keep in mind that the boundaries of many countries changed through time, (don't forget Prussia in you case).
-
Thanks you John Doe (really?)
That is the best explanation I've have seen and it makes more sense to me. It seems to mean that although my "people" came from Germany the actual members, who left in the late 1800's, have spread far and wide since then.
Cheers
Richard