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DNA Genealogy
Posted by: Ralph on the 10 April 2009 | Permalink
Just over a year ago I took the step of joining a DNA genealogy site to have my paternal DNA checked so I could compare it to others with the same surname that had published their results.
My decision to go with a particular testing company was based on cost and the functionality of their web site where my results would be stored.
As it turned out the various organisations conducting testing across the globe do not follow a single standard so you end up comparing apples and oranges. Several sites have conversion factors to be applied but you are still left wondering if the end result is accurate.
I also discovered that my DNA testing organisation continually refines their techniques and change the parameters of the test so my results get amended from time to time.
The science behind DNA checking can be found by doing Goggle searches so I do not intend to describe it here. What is fascinating is that when you compare your DNA results to someone else you can establish if you share a common ancestor. This is becoming a very powerful genealogical tool.
The collection of results globally also assists in confirming our roots and the migratory patterns of humans since leaving Africa.
I also instigated further testing for a backbone test that confirms my haplogroup type of R1b. This basically indicates that my ancestors came from Western Europe some 10,000 years ago.
My paternal haplogroup arose from 7 key detectable genetic events over the past 100,000 years and the genetic changes that occurred over time, resulting in its present day form.
Timeline of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b
Origin —BT —CF —F M89—K M9—P M45—R M207—R1b M343
It is estimated the founder of the R1b lineage lived over 35,000 years ago prior to the end of the last Ice Age in Southern Europe and Iberia. Members of this haplogroup are believed to be descendants of Cro-Magnon people, the first modern humans to enter Europe. Cro-Magnons lived from about 35,000 to 10,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithis period of the Pleistocene.
When the ice sheets retracted at the end of the ice age, descendents of the R1b lineage migrated throughout Western Europe. Today, haplogroup R1b is found predominantly in Western Europe, including England, Ireland, and parts of Spain and Portugal.
The next step for me has been to order a subclade test that will further define my tribe, i.e. a DNA sub group, which can also be compared to other researchers thus indicating the region of Europe where my ancestors came from.
I will provide further information on this when the results become available.