Ancestry DNA testing is a booming industry at the moment, with millions around the globe learning more and more about their genetic heritage and ancestry each day. Ancestry tests can connect you with relatives you never knew about and unveil the rich history of your ancestors. Just how far back do ancestry DNA tests go, though? The answer to this question varies depending on the kind of ancestry test you opt for. This article will explore ancestry DNA tests- how they work and what you can (and cannot) learn from them.
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Ancestry DNA Testing: An Overview
Your genes comprise only 3% of your DNA but contain a world of information about you, your relatives, and your ancestors.
Due to different inheritance patterns, you and your sibling may inherit different genes from your parents, giving both of you slightly different ancestry results.
With over 26 million people adding their DNA to the four leading commercial ancestry databases, many people naturally have questions about these tests.
How Do Genetic Ancestry Tests Work?
Genetic ancestry tests or genetic genealogy tests allow people to learn more about their ancestors, sometimes going beyond what relatives have told them.
Examining an individual’s DNA variations can provide clues to who their ancestors may have been.
It also helps determine relationships between families.
The genetic patterns and variations are shared between people of particular backgrounds.
Closely related individuals share more genetic patterns and variations.
Types Of Ancestry DNA Tests
There are three main types of DNA tests:
- Autosomal DNA Tests (SNP Testing): These evaluate many individual variations (called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) across a genome.
- Y-DNA tests (traces the direct line from fathers): These tests explore ancestry in the direct male line.
- mtDNA tests (traces the direct line from mothers): Identifies genetic variations in the mitochondrial DNA.
How Far Back Do Ancestry DNA Tests Go?
How far back ancestry DNA tests go depends upon:
- The type of DNA being tested
- The type of DNA test used
- The sensitivity of the test
Most people can learn about their maternal and paternal ancestry as far back as six to ten generations.
Which AncestryDNA Test Goes Back The Farthest?
Mitochondrial or mtDNA is a type of DNA testing that takes you back the farthest.
This is because mtDNA mutates slower than Y-DNA over generations.
Thus, it’s exceptionally well-conserved.
Additionally, since we have mtDNA in almost all our cells, studying these DNA samples is more reliable than studying ancient ones.
How Far Back Does The Y-DNA Test Trace?
Y-DNA testing follows your paternal lineage.
Since this kind of DNA occurs on the Y chromosome, only biological males can learn about their heritage through this test.
Additionally, you cannot learn anything about your maternal lineage through a Y-DNA test.
Y-DNA is well-conserved across generations and can be traced back thousands of years.
How Far Back Does The mtDNA Test Trace?
mtDNA testing can trace your maternal ancestry back 150,000 to 200,000 years.
The mitochondrial Eve lived hundreds of thousands of years ago and is the most recent common ancestor.
Her direct descendant is alive today and carries a fragment of her mtDNA.
Certain mtDNA types can help you trace direct-line maternal ancestry nearly 52 generations or 1300 years prior.
Even though mtDNA testing takes us back into your family history, we can only learn about 1% of our ancestors using this method.
How Far Back Does The Autosomal DNA Test Trace?
Several companies offer autosomal DNA testing, including:
- AncestryDNA
- 23andMe
- LivingDNA
- FamilyTreeDNA
This type of DNA test provides information about a wide range of ancestors, going back up to five or six generations.
Traveling back one generation halves your DNA.
Your parents carry 50% of your DNA
Your grandparents carried 25% of your DNA, their parents carried 12.5%, and so on.
After a point, the percentage of your DNA becomes too small to track reliably.
Thus, autosomal DNA tests only help trace recent ancestry.
Explore Your AncestryDNA Raw Data
Here’s how you can get the most out of your DNA raw data in 3 simple steps:
- Download your raw data file from Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, or any other ancestry company. You can get a 23andMe kit from here if you don't have one.
- Buy any of our 10 health and wellness reports (or the Xcode Life Premium Pack for a 70% discount)
- Upload your raw data and get your results in 24 hours!
Summary: How Far Back Do Ancestry DNA Tests Go?
- Genes comprise just 3% of your DNA, but they contain a world of information about you, your family, and your ancestors.
- Genetic ancestry tests help people know more about their ancestors, sometimes going beyond what relatives have told them.
- There are three genetic ancestry tests: autosomal, Y-DNA, and mtDNA.
- Y-DNA tests can trace back thousands of years
- Ancestry tests for mtDNA can go back nearly 52 generations.
- Autosomal DNA tests are accurate only up to 5 or 6 generations ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Generations Until You Are No Longer Related?
The amount of your autosomal DNA halves with each generation.
Thus, after around 8 generations, you are related to fewer and fewer ancestors on your family tree.
What Is The Oldest Bloodline In The World?
The Lurie family is known as the oldest family in the world.
Their lineage can be traced back to the 11th century BCE.
How Rare Is It To Be 100% One Ethnicity?
No human can be classified definitively under only one ethnicity.
Migration is inevitable, leading to the mixing of DNA from different ethnicities.
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