The Missus got each of us the Ancestry.com DNA test for Christmas. The family story has been that we are German/Irish although my maternal Grandmother's maiden name was Pattison which is an English name. None the less, here's my DNA readout:
Europe/West (the German part): 37%
Ireland/Scotland/Wales: 35%
Great Britain: 14%
Scandinavia: 9%
Africa, North: 2%
Everything else
(Spain, Eastern Europe, etc): the rest
So let's stop for a moment and contemplate the human history that brought this mix to be me. Sure, we get the German part and the British Isles part, but what's up with the Scandinavian business? Interesting bit of history there, involving marauding Danish Vikings who terrorized the British Isles for centuries and who colonized parts of Great Britain and intermarried with the locals. The Vikings were so feared (and very rightly so) that a special prayer was coined just for them: "God save us from the Vikings".
So there is a good chance that some Viking men hooked up with some women of the Brit isles not all that long ago historically speaking and shoved some of their DNA into my family make up. I guess I have the Viking DNA to thank for my lifelong desire to explore (but not to conquer) the far reaches of the world.
So, now that the Danes have been handled, what's up with this 2% North Africa strain? I remember as a kid my uncle announcing quite loudly to a family gathering that my nose was 'Jewish' much to his great amusement. He was a very loud Irishman and loved to announce things at great volume. My parents were at a loss to defend my somewhat large and oddly shaped (for the German/Irish family) nose. Actually my nose may be the only remnant of a North African Berber who found his way into my family tree. When did this happen and how?
All in all my DNA results were more interesting than the German/Irish heritage that I expected. That is of course if they are indeed factual and not spiced up by the boys in the lab to provide an interesting story for me! If I had the dough, I'd do the test again and see how it comes back the second time around.
Can't wait for the Missus' results!
Europe/West (the German part): 37%
Ireland/Scotland/Wales: 35%
Great Britain: 14%
Scandinavia: 9%
Africa, North: 2%
Everything else
(Spain, Eastern Europe, etc): the rest
So let's stop for a moment and contemplate the human history that brought this mix to be me. Sure, we get the German part and the British Isles part, but what's up with the Scandinavian business? Interesting bit of history there, involving marauding Danish Vikings who terrorized the British Isles for centuries and who colonized parts of Great Britain and intermarried with the locals. The Vikings were so feared (and very rightly so) that a special prayer was coined just for them: "God save us from the Vikings".
So there is a good chance that some Viking men hooked up with some women of the Brit isles not all that long ago historically speaking and shoved some of their DNA into my family make up. I guess I have the Viking DNA to thank for my lifelong desire to explore (but not to conquer) the far reaches of the world.
So, now that the Danes have been handled, what's up with this 2% North Africa strain? I remember as a kid my uncle announcing quite loudly to a family gathering that my nose was 'Jewish' much to his great amusement. He was a very loud Irishman and loved to announce things at great volume. My parents were at a loss to defend my somewhat large and oddly shaped (for the German/Irish family) nose. Actually my nose may be the only remnant of a North African Berber who found his way into my family tree. When did this happen and how?
All in all my DNA results were more interesting than the German/Irish heritage that I expected. That is of course if they are indeed factual and not spiced up by the boys in the lab to provide an interesting story for me! If I had the dough, I'd do the test again and see how it comes back the second time around.
Can't wait for the Missus' results!
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