subject: Using DNA testing to trace their ancestry [print this page] Using DNA testing to trace their ancestry
In recent years, particularly with the rise in television programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are?, the matter of tracing one's ancestry has become increasingly popular, and more and more people are looking to the past for clues as to their origins.
One common myth is that genealogical DNA testing, the process by which a DNA test is carried out to determine ancestry is the same as DNA tests which are carried out for medical or criminal purposes. This is untrue the process used to carry out the DNA tests is more restricted, and instead of revealing details such as hereditary illness and so on, uncovers links to the past, even people who we may be distant relatives of, without even being aware of it.
There is some speculation that this could be something to do with the current society we live in. As a group of people, particularly in urban areas, many feel a sense of disconnection from others, and a sense of community and family having been lost. Now amateur genealogists are going further than most family trees or records will be able to, using DNA testing to trace their ancestry.
Most records of births, deaths and marriages will only be able to go so far before the evidence runs out due to absent, incomplete or lost records, or even the records having not begun officially. DNA testing is a way of providing conclusive evidence tracing the origins of our families as far back as tens of thousands of years.
Among non Europeans, twenty nine clans have been found, including twelve belonging to African origin, four among Native Americans, and nine among Japanese. About half of Europeans are thought to be descendants of Helena, a woman who lived in the Pyrenees 20,000 years ago, and most Europeans are descended from one of seven women, or "the seven daughters of Eve", as they have been dubbed.
Now it is possible to take a DNA test which will determine the ancestry of a person by taking a cheek swab, running it to the lab for analysis, and tapping into a vast database. The evidence which is produced from mitochondrial DNA tests or mtDNA, tests genetic material which is passed down from mother to child and alters little. However this form of DNA testing can still produce gaps as it only takes into account two lineages; the father ten times removed, and the mother ten times removed, and so does not allow for any information about others who would have contributed to a person's genetic makeup.
Genealogical DNA testing is not only a good way of building up a rich and fascinating history of a family, but it is also a method of tracing the migratory patterns of these ancestors, imagining their journey, and a key to understanding our present selves.
