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With DNA testing expanding and offering more options and information, genealogists must keep up to date if they want to get the most out of their results.
Fortunately, FamilySearch has just issued an online primer on the subject. Go to www.familysearch.org/home/dna-testing. If you don’t know all the ins and outs of the subject, this offering is as good an introduction as you’ll find.
Once in the site, look for “All About Me” and click on “DNA.” That heading will take you to a series of pages on various aspects of DNA testing.
First off, a brief video features genealogists explaining how they put their DNA test results to use. Then, three buttons to click on will give plenty of additional information.
“Options” discusses the major commercial DNA tests, going into detail about what they focus on and how they differ from one another in how they are taken and what kind of results are generated.
A second button takes you to the principal uses of DNA testing, such as compiling family trees, locating the closest cousins, coping with the proverbial “brick walls” and determining ancestral homelands.
The final section offers frequently asked questions about DNA testing. There are quite a number of them, such as how to deal with unexpected results and learning if your DNA results will be shared with outsiders. There is also a super-useful sub-section that presents a list of vital definitions, such as “haplogroup” and “chromosome mapping.”
All in all, this is as good a non-technical introduction to the subject as I’ve seen. If you’re making genealogical New Year’s resolutions for 2022, here is a practical place to start.
More DNA News: Interpreting your DNA maps is far from easy, but scholars are working to unearth more facts and make interpretation more accurate.
Just recently Harvard geneticist David Reich wrote in the academic journal “Nature” that the latest research into the DNA of ancient human remains shows that a mass migration from Europe around 1300 B.C. to 800 B.C. “displaced around half the ancestry of England and Wales.” The migration also “may have brought early Celtic languages to the island from Europe.” A similar migration thousands of years earlier was already well known.
Dr. Reich’s article was summarized just days ago in an article in “The New York Times.” Reich and his team studied the DNA in remains of 783 people who lived thousands of years ago. By comparing such DNA to the DNA of living people, a paleogenomic scientist can determine migration patterns in ancient times.
The bottom line for today’s genealogists looking to find the earliest possible origins for their families is that large quantities of research and caution are necessary. We should also try to keep up to date on the latest findings in historical DNA through reading genealogy publications in print or online.
Remember this major point. The maps that come with a DNA test show a pattern of our DNA going back thousands of years, not just the most recent couple of hundred, as our genealogical research probably shows. That is why there might seem to be a lack of alignment between our personal family history as we have traced it and the lines and circles on the map we get after taking a personal DNA test.
News Notes: The Luzerne County Historical Society has set Jan. 4 for its post-holiday reopening. Researchers can contact the society and make appointments. Go to the Facebook page for contact information.
Tom Mooney is a Times Leader genealogy columnist. Reach him at [email protected].