Coolest present ever update: She LOVED it!

[Bossy Monkey]

Earlier thread here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7152485 about the National Geographic Genographic Project participation kit found here: http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2345&itemType=PRODUCT with further details here: https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/

In a nutshell, you send them a cheek swab (anonymously) and they tell you where your ancestors came from. If you're male you can choose between the patrilineal (y-chromosome)or matrilineal (mitochondrial DNA) lines; if you're female, it's just matrilineal. It's a straight line to your furthest identifiable direct ancestor, and winds up about 10,000 years ago, so it's not going to tell you whether great-grandma was Hungarian or Croatian or anything like that. Orsino was kind enough to cut and paste his results on my earlier thread. It was good to know in advance that though the material is fascinating, it might not be as specific as one might expect.

Regardless, Alice has been fascinated with this stuff for years and she was thrilled to get it. If you know somebody who is interested in archaeology, genealogy, human migration or just neat stuff and if you have $110 handy, it's a great present. They got it to me in 9 days. Granted, that was November and this is December, but you've still got an even-up chance of getting delivery by Xmas if you're so inclined. And again, I'm in no way affiliated with the National Geographic Society, unless one of them is reading this and wants to throw money at me for doing such a good job of promoting their Genographic Project. Hell, I'm not proud.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Very cool! I have a feeling if I did this test it would tell me what I already know that

I am a Euro-mutt. My ancestor would be pegged somewhere over there. England, Hungary, Germany. I dunno. One of those, probably.

Glad she liked it. I think that it was a really cool gift idea. :D

[Bossy Monkey]

2. For most caucasians, it just says something along the lines of

Africa to Middle East to Central Asia to Europe, arriving in the last 10,000 years ago. So no, nothing that's going to surprise you very much, but it's still pretty cool.

We're holding out hope that it'll tell her she's an extraterrestrial or something.:)

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. LOL Yes if it comes up "Mars" that could be very cool

[applegrove]

4. I did it too. It was cool.

[DarkTirade]

5. As curious as I am about my ancestry, I don't think I'll bother... I'm just too much of a mutt. :)

Little bit of this, little bit of that... who knows what else.

[Bossy Monkey]

7. As I note above, it only follows the direct patrilineal or matrilineal line

and stops 10,000 years ago, so muttishness doesn't come up.

[DarkTirade]

8. So I've I've got a 50/50 chance of the patriarchal line being from america or europe...

depending on whether my y chromosome came from the native american side or the european side... I don't know which grampa's parents was the native american and which was european. And the matriarchal line probably just came from the european area. There's some jewish heritage on my mother's side, but it's through my grandfather so it probably wouldn't show up.

[Bossy Monkey]

9. The only way I can figure it is that it goes by the dominant trait all down the line

because they look for specific markers on the y-chromosome (or mitochondrial DNA). More on edit if the project's FAQ has anything enlightening to add.

Edit: Boy, the FAQ wasn't overly helpful; I have a feeling it was written before anybody asked any questions, frequently or otherwise. Anyway, the closest it comes to bearing on the question is here https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/faqs_results.html#Q16 where they said this: 16. What if my results show an entirely different location, country, or place than what I know to be true about my early ancestors?
Your results reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths your ancestors followed thousands of years ago. The migratory route is one part of your history and does not preclude what you already know to be true about your more recent genealogical past. It has no bearing on your cultural identity, ethnic heritage, or nationality of the more recent historical past. Your individual results may confirm your expectations of what you believe your deep ancestry to be, or you may be surprised to learn a new story about your genetic background. You will not receive a percentage breakdown of your genetic background by ethnicity, race, or geographic origin. Nor will you receive confirmation of an association with a particular tribe or indigenous group. This is not a genealogy study. You will not learn about your great-grandparents or other recent relatives, and your DNA trail will not necessarily lead to your present-day location. Rather, your results will reveal the anthropological story of your direct maternal or paternal ancestors—where they lived and how they migrated around the world many thousands of years ago.

... which is pretty much what you and I said already. Sorry I can't be any more helpful.

[hedgehog]

6. Sometimes I see a western European with the epithetic eye fold

and I wonder if that's chance or did Genghis Khan really get around THAT much.