A few months ago, I sent in DNA samples to a National Geographic research project called Genographic which analyzes one's deep ancestry. It has nothing to do with medical associated genetic testing although they provide a file that can be used for that purpose. There is a similar project in the UK called 23and me which does more or less the same thing.
When I got back from London, my results were ready and fascinating. As most of you would have guessed, I am slightly more neanderthal than average (2.3% versus 2%) but also 3.2% Denisovan which is a more recently discovered non-homo sapien ancestor group primarily found in Siberia.
In terms of regional ancestry (5,000-10,000 years ago) I am 57% Mediterranean, 21% Southwest Asian (think middle east), 18% Northern Europe, and 2 % Northeast Asian (presumably the Denisovan part). My profile matches most closely with Iranian and Sardinian populations, but is generally consistent with the Neolithic expansion from the middle east 8,000 years.
The way they draw the boundaries between Mediterranean and Northern Europe skews my ancestry a little more south than I would have guessed (or the Russian peasant stuff came later than I would have guessed) but is pretty consistent with the Ashkenzi Jewish heritage that I am aware of. It also suggests that the distinctions between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews is of much more recent origin that I was aware of.
So no real surprises but I am fascinated by this whole exercise. More importantly, who wants to run next with a 94.5% Homo Sapien 5.5% Neanderthal/Denisovan?
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