The Times wants your views: DNA ethnicity results

[markbridge]

I'm a journalist at The Times and am working on an article on autosomal DNA tests. Among other things, this will look at the value/accuracy of "ethnicity" results. We're keen to hear from people in the UK who have taken the AncestryDNA test who would be willing to share their results and their thoughts on them (anonymously, if preferred).

If you have also been tested with Family Tree DNA or 23andMe, or have uploaded your Ancestry raw data to the latter site, we would be keen to know how your ethnicity results with those companies compare.

If you would be willing to help, please message me or post your thoughts below, including your ethnicity results, with trace regions, and a brief summary of your known family history (e.g. seven great-grandparents born in England, one in Ireland, all known lines English and Irish).

We won't name you or provide any identifying information in our article unless you state that you're happy to be named.

If you haven't yet transferred your Ancestry raw data to Family Tree DNA and paid the $39 fee to "unlock" features like myOrigins (ethnicity results) but would be keen to do so, please let me know as we will be able to pay for eight people to do this. Explain why you'd like to compare results and we'll pay for transfer upgrades for the members who provide the best and most interesting reasons.

Many thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Mark Bridge

[trystan]

Mark,

This sound like a really exciting project, and it will be fascinating to many of us to read about what you find from it.

Thank you for asking us here on RootsChat to help.

It would be interesting too to hear people's general experiences with DNA testing for genealogy too. Have any of us consciously decided not to take a DNA test, if so why? Has it caused concern from other family members? Has a DNA test resulted in any skeletons to come out of the closet?

What are our expectations from a DNA test?

Trystan

[DavidG02]

Trystan

No great expectation on the ethnic side. I have stated on other boards my concerns about profiling by name. I also feel , if anthropology is correct, that our path is From Africa, Middle east, Europe. So our DNA will reflect that.

I would utilize DNA ( a $$$ issue for now) as a means to break down brickwalls or to find common relations - within a 300 year period. If I could have that happen I would be happy with the money spent. Am I aiming too high? Possibly , if I can find I have a broken connection then so be it.

I have no fears or qualms as to what may be exposed. If I am not related to my grandfather , as rumour has it, then I move on to another family.

The essence of me wont change , I am who I am because of what I do. My name has shaped me to some extent, but it doesn't define me.

[trystan]

David,

Thanks for replying and kicking off the topic - we'd love to hear the views of people. 

It's good that you are philosophical about what would happen if the DNA test found a broken link. I imagine it would be difficult to get your head around.

So from an anthropology point of view, and showing my ignorance, is it generally accepted that all of us from the western world broadly come from Africa, Middle East and Europe?

Trystan

[DavidG02]

It is accepted belief that the route of migration was mostly through the mid-east ( Southern Asia) into Europe. Some migration skipped the Middle east and crossed over from Morocco to Gibraltar.

http://australianmuseum.net.au/the-first-migrations-out-of-africa

Though like most there are opposing theories

http://www.theage.com.au/national/education/out-of-africa-theory-of-human-evolution-under-fire-20140821-106o5e.html

Ultimately the theory of migration out of Africa is sound , the argument is more when

[BumbleB]

My apologies for this, from the outset. 

I personally am not interested in taking a DNA test, however, I can see that it has its merits, especially for those who are not aware of their antecedents (such as those who have been adopted and do not know their family background).

As David has said already, we are who we are.  Whilst we may be able to shape the future, we are unable to change the past.

Sorry if I’m sounding too negative, but that’s my view. 

[jaybelnz]

I'm not inclined to go for the DNA thing.  Not from any fear of what I might discover, finding possible skeletons etc. I'm just basically content to be who I am, as I am, where I am! 

And frankly, I don't understand the terminology, and financially, well, if I want to keep up my family research subscriptions and buying certs, etc, DNA testing is just not going to fit into my budget anywhere!

I'm not against it, it's just not for me!   And Trystan, sorry, but because I don't understand it, I can't say anything remotely intelligent that may help you with this!  But will be watching with interest, I'll probably learn something!

Jeanne

[trystan]

Negative views are just as welcome as positive ones - it gives us a balanced view after all.

I've often thought that I look quite Russian. It's a good job I wasn't born there because I can't speak the language.

Trystan

[pinefamily]

Trystan,
That is the generally accepted view of anthropologists and palaeontologists, but from what I've read of late the order in which the early humans moved into different areas is being challenged. Some really early finds in the Middle East and Anatolia seem to show that the spread was more erratic than first thought.
Like David, I personally think that DNA tests would be better value as a means to prove a certain family link, rather than discovering one's ethnicity on an anthropological level. I don't know if the technology exists, but I would love to prove beyond all doubt that I do indeed have Swedish ancestry, as told by relatives old enough to know the people involved; the official records tell a different story, but that could be a matter of "keeping up appearances".
The project does sound interesting though, as anthropology and palaeontology are two of my reading interests.