Genetic genealogy
Theory
The fact that men are from Mars and women from Venus has been known for centuries.
The fact that our sex determined by two chromosomes: X and Y, on the other hand,
is known only for about one century. Y-chromosome DNA occurs only in males and is
passed from father to son in unaltered (or almost unaltered) form. Scientists managed
to identify 18 groups of yDNA (Y-chromosome DNA), which, combined with the geographical
distribution of those 18 groups and yDNA data obtained from excavations has allowed
them to develop maps of human migration. Additionally, parts of yDNA mutate from
time to time, which can help us to estimate the number of generations that have passed
since the two men with similar genetic profiles had a common ancestor. And thus,
for instance, two men with the same values on 67 tested markers shared a common ancestor
no more than 2 generations ago with 50% probability, no more than 4 generations with
90% probability, and not more than 6 generations earlier with 95% probability. Needless
to say, yDNA tests enjoy great popularity among genealogists, and the increasing
availability and affordability of those tests results in increasing interest in genetic
genealogy all over the world.
Our results
Results of tests conducted by our family show that we are typical representatives
of the Slavic nations. Our yDNA belongs to haplogrupy R1a1, which most frequently
occurs in Sorbs, Poles, Hungarians (about 60% of the population, which reminds of
the old sayings "Pole, Hungarian, two nephews ..."), Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians,
Latvians ( 40% -50%), Lithuanians, Croatians and Macedonians populations, (about
35%). Interestingly, in some Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Sweden) haplogroup
R1a1 occurs as often as in Czech Republic and Slovakia (20% -25%). Even more interesting
is the fact that it occurs quite often in several Asian countries - India (about
20% -30%, with approximately 45% in upper caste, and Kashmiri Pandits over 70%!),
Iran and Pakistan (about 25%).
The first fact can easily explained by mutual expeditions
of Slavs and Vikings (not to mention trade relations between those two cultures).
As for our Asian cousins, the case is even simpler - we are direct descendants of
the proto-Indo-European tribes living in steppes of Euro-Asia thousand of years ago.
Going back to our family - we found a number of our genetic cousins, but unfortunately
we failed so far to establish any common ancestors. Most of our distant relatives
come from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary, but few of their
families have been residing for centuries in countries like Germany, Denmark, Holland
and even England, Scotland and Wales.
The use of yDNA research for genealogical purposes
is still a relatively young phenomenon, so the hope remains that over time it will
become even more popular and affordable. In the meantime, if anyone is interested
in our genetic profile, please visit www.ysearch.org.
