DNA results are back: Need help interpreting

[sundiata]

;D Been waiting a long time for this. 23andme finally came through.

Maternal lineage:

L1c2b1

L1c2b1 is a subgroup of L1c, which is described below.

Haplogroup L1c has been largely restricted to central Africa since originating in its equatorial forests about 60,000 years ago. It is extremely common among western pygmy populations such as the Biaka and Bakola, where it appears to be universal. It is also found among African-Americans.

Found mostly in Biaka, I carry a subgroup of this haplotype. Any information on where and when this specific haplotype may have diverged, and among whom the frequencies reach its highest, would be much appreciated. A quick search lead me to a blog post which claims that this haplotype is usually associated with Ethiopia and "SA" (which I assume they mean south Africa?).

leherensuge.blogspot.com/2010/03/reviewing-mtdna-l-lineages-notes-l1.html

I am delighted, yet surprised by this. Family history indicates that I had a great grandmother who was full blown native American. Either this is false (as I explained to my mother) or interactions between my American ancestors were simply more complex than originally assumed.

Paternal lineage:

E1b1a

^No surprise here. One question though. The Nigerian example they post is "E1b1a8a1" which I see is a derived form of my own haplotype. Would this make it more difficult to pin point any particular ethnic groups that may be involved here? Or is the haplotype simply too general in that it is shared among the vast majority of Niger-Congo speakers?

Ancestry painting:

70% Africa
21% European
9% Asian

Now, I don't dispute that I carry some non-African ancestry but 30% seems high. I know to be skeptical from what I learned here and due to their low reference samples, it is easy to imagine that some of this DNA could very well be African as well, but I wouldn't know.

Global Similarity:

In specific order, it states that I am mostly related to the reference West African populations, then Southern Africans, Central Africans, East Africans, North Africans, and so on, with South Americans being most distant.

What strikes me as curious is that I'd resemble Southern Africans before those in Central. Minute difference, but it could suggest that some of my ancestors came from areas such as Mozambique (?). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that would make sense given maternal data suggesting that I possess ancestry from the eastern or southern portion of the continent (though I would like confirmation of that blog post).

In any event, I am very excited to learn that I can trace both of my parental lines back to Africa. 23andme however, is so biased toward Europeans and rely so much on outdated archaeological theories (like unchanging geographic barriers) and weird assumptions about diversity 500 years ago, that it is difficult to rely on their ancestry painting and other similar data with any real confidence. I wish I knew how to post the illustrations and charts but unfortunately I don't know how to copy and paste all of that stuff.

[Charlie Bass]

Jul 12, 2010 4:02:12 GMT -5 sundiata said:

;D Been waiting a long time for this. 23andme finally came through.

Maternal lineage:

L1c2b1

L1c2b1 is a subgroup of L1c, which is described below.

Haplogroup L1c has been largely restricted to central Africa since originating in its equatorial forests about 60,000 years ago. It is extremely common among western pygmy populations such as the Biaka and Bakola, where it appears to be universal. It is also found among African-Americans.

Found mostly in Biaka, I carry a subgroup of this haplotype. Any information on where and when this specific haplotype may have emerged, and among whom the frequencies reach its highest, would be much appreciated. A quick search lead me to a blog post which claims that this haplotype is usually associated with Ethiopia and "SA" (which I assume they mean south Africa?).

leherensuge.blogspot.com/2010/03/reviewing-mtdna-l-lineages-notes-l1.html

I am delighted, yet surprised by this. Family history indicates that I had a great grandmother who was full blown native American. Either this is false (as I explained to my mother) or interactions between my American ancestors were simply more complex than originally assumed.

Paternal lineage:

E1b1a

^No surprise here. One question though. The Nigerian example they post is "E1b1a8a1" which I see is a derived form of my own haplotype. Would this make it more difficult to pin point any particular ethnic groups that may be involved here? Or is the haplotype simply too general in that it is shared among the vast majority of Niger-Congo speakers?

Ancestry painting:

70% Africa
21% European
9% Asian

Now, I don't dispute that I carry some non-African ancestry but 30% seems high. I know to be skeptical from what I learned here and due to their low reference samples, it is easy to imagine that some of this DNA could very well be African as well, but I wouldn't know.

Global Similarity:

In specific order, it states that I am mostly related to the reference West African populations, then Southern Africans, Central Africans, East Africans, North Africans, and so on, with South Americans being most distant.

What strikes me as curious is that I'd resemble Southern Africans before those in Central. Minute difference, but it could suggest that some of my ancestors came from areas such as Mozambique (?). Correct me if I'm wrong, but that would make sense given maternal data suggesting that I possess ancestry from the eastern or southern portion of the continent (though I would like confirmation of that blog post).

In any event, I am very excited to learn that I can track both of my parental lines back to Africa. 23andme however, is so biased toward Europeans and rely so much of outdated archaeological theories (like unchanging geographic barriers) and weird assumptions about diversity 500 years ago, that it is difficult to rely on their ancestry painting and other data. I wish I knew how to post the illustrations and charts but unfortunately I don't know how to copy and paste all of that stuff.

That you share a mtDNA haplogroup with Biaka's is intriguing and that you're close to Southeast Africans is not so shocking because in certain parts of the US Mozambicans were transported.

[egyptianplanet]

Now, I don't dispute that I carry some non-African ancestry but 30% seems high. I know to be skeptical from what I learned here and due to their low reference samples, it is easy to imagine that some of this DNA could very well be African as well, but I wouldn't know.

I think Snoop had 29% non-African ancestry as well. It's not surprising. I have a friend who's dark as night, I took him to take a pretty well known DNA test and turns out he's 40% Irish. He took a swab and that's what it told him. I don't know how they'd try to hide that fact but here he was.. much darker than me and much more European than me.

Just be happy, Whitey.

^No surprise here. One question though. The Nigerian example they post is "E1b1a8a1" which I see is a derived form of my own haplotype. Would this make it more difficult to pin point any particular ethnic groups that may be involved here? Or is the haplotype simply too general in that it is shared among the vast majority of Niger-Congo speakers?

Nigeria is so diverse it's tough to say. If this comes along the coast, which I presume it does, my best guess is that marker is Yoruba (probably) and Igbo (possibly). Outside of height, Yorubas and Igbos look primarily the same.

I was shown to have East African and Eurasian genetics which is typical of Lower Egyptians. Hope to get the exact figures when I send another swab in August.

[truthteacher2007]

Jul 12, 2010 8:30:25 GMT -5 egyptianplanet said:

Now, I don't dispute that I carry some non-African ancestry but 30% seems high. I know to be skeptical from what I learned here and due to their low reference samples, it is easy to imagine that some of this DNA could very well be African as well, but I wouldn't know.

I think Snoop had 29% non-African ancestry as well. It's not surprising. I have a friend who's dark as night, I took him to take a pretty well known DNA test and turns out he's 40% Irish. He took a swab and that's what it told him. I don't know how they'd try to hide that fact but here he was.. much darker than me and much more European than me.

Just be happy, Whitey.

^No surprise here. One question though. The Nigerian example they post is "E1b1a8a1" which I see is a derived form of my own haplotype. Would this make it more difficult to pin point any particular ethnic groups that may be involved here? Or is the haplotype simply too general in that it is shared among the vast majority of Niger-Congo speakers?

Nigeria is so diverse it's tough to say. If this comes along the coast, which I presume it does, my best guess is that marker is Yoruba (probably) and Igbo (possibly). Outside of height, Yorubas and Igbos look primarily the same.

I was shown to have East African and Eurasian genetics which is typical of Lower Egyptians. Hope to get the exact figures when I send another swab in August.

I took the NationalGeo test a few years ago. It showed my paternal line to go back to Central Africa, which I wasn't surprised about since we have kept the story of how we ended up in Jamaica in the family. It did confirm what was told, that we came from the area near Congo. What it didn't show was my degree of admixture. I didn't know you have to take another test for that. I'd like to know my full spectrum but I'm not sure what kind of test to take or how much it would cost.

[egyptianplanet]

Nigeria/Niger/Ghana/IvoryCoast tends to be with West Africa whereas Congo/Cameroon is more akin to Central Africa. There is a different climate in both regions which is fair in pointing out.

And the funny thing is many of you are "Whiter" genetically than I am. :lol:

[sundiata]

Posted by the Bass:

That you share a mtDNA haplogroup with Biaka's is intriguing and that you're close to Southeast Africans is not so shocking because in certain parts of the US Mozambicans were transported.

Indeed. I found my MtDNA to be a lot more interesting (given that it was more unexpected). While it seems that I do share this haplogroup with the Biaka and Bakola, it appears to be in a derived state and according to Barik, S.S. et al (2008), it is composed with a "very rare" mutation. I also double checked the supplemental data linked in the blog post (See Fig S1) and it states that matches are found in Ethiopia, among the Dama in South Africa, and in Portugal. I suspect that those who carried the L1c lineage stayed or moved east after its emergence, but this distribution is unusual. The Dama (southwest as opposed to southeast or Mozambique), Ethiopia, Portugal? Very complex histories going on. I'm fascinated and am looking deeper into this.

Posted by truthteacher:

I'd like to know my full spectrum but I'm not sure what kind of test to take or how much it would cost.

It is very expensive. The test that I took was the ultimate edition package from 23andME. It runs for $500. However, I took advantage of the special discount offered on DNA day and got it for $99! I have access to my raw data and everything.

Posted by Egyptianplanet:

I think Snoop had 29% non-African ancestry as well. It's not surprising. I have a friend who's dark as night, I took him to take a pretty well known DNA test and turns out he's 40% Irish. He took a swab and that's what it told him. I don't know how they'd try to hide that fact but here he was.. much darker than me and much more European than me.

Just be happy, Whitey.

LOL @ "whitey". Indeed, I am pretty dark so if you saw me you'd see why this isn't what I'd expect, though obviously this further demonstrates that skin color isn't a "racial trait" any more than any other phenotype.

[imhotep06]

My Maternal, from 23andMe, is L3e2a1b1 (Mozambique). My Paternal is R1b1b2a1a1* (Western Europe). This is not surprising given my family is from Louisiana were admixing was quite prevalent. Ancestry painting has me as:

Africa 59%
Europe 23%
Asia 18%

I doubt when looking at me that any European or "Asian" (native-american) is apparent in me.


Subgroups distribution
Subhaplogroup L3b - West Africa
Subhaplogroup L3d - West Africa
Subhaplogroup L3d1- Central Africa- Among the Fulani, Cushitic Ethiopians, 3% Mozambique and 5% in Yemen Pereira et al. (2001) and Salas et al. (2002).
Subhaplogroup L3e - Wide spread in Africa. It is the most common of the L3 sub-haplogroups, accounting for just over one-third of all L3-type sequences and is the most common sub-haplogroup within the Bantu-speaking populations of east Africa. L3e is suggested to be associated with a central African/Sudanese origin about 45,000 years ago and is also the most common mtdna haplogroup L3 subclade amongst African Americans, Afro-Brazilians and Caribbeans.
Subhaplogroup L3e1 - Central Africa origin and is found in Algeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, Sudanese and Kikuyu from Kenya as well as in Yemen.
Subhaplogroup L3e5 - Originated in the Chad Basin but found in Nigeria, south Tunisia, South Morocco and Egypt K. Fadhlaoui-Zid et al. 2004 June. Annals of Human Genetics 68:3, 230
Subhaplogroup L3f - East Africa
Subhaplogroup L3f3 - Chad Basin, Central AfricaČerný et al., (2009). . BMC Evolutionary Biology, 9:63, 2.
Subhaplogroup L3x - Ethiopian OromosKivisild et al. 2004 November. American Journal of Human Genetics 75(5): 759

[doctorisscientia]

Jul 12, 2010 8:30:25 GMT -5 egyptianplanet said:

Now, I don't dispute that I carry some non-African ancestry but 30% seems high. I know to be skeptical from what I learned here and due to their low reference samples, it is easy to imagine that some of this DNA could very well be African as well, but I wouldn't know.

I think Snoop had 29% non-African ancestry as well. It's not surprising. I have a friend who's dark as night, I took him to take a pretty well known DNA test and turns out he's 40% Irish. He took a swab and that's what it told him. I don't know how they'd try to hide that fact but here he was.. much darker than me and much more European than me.

Just be happy, Whitey.

^No surprise here. One question though. The Nigerian example they post is "E1b1a8a1" which I see is a derived form of my own haplotype. Would this make it more difficult to pin point any particular ethnic groups that may be involved here? Or is the haplotype simply too general in that it is shared among the vast majority of Niger-Congo speakers?

Nigeria is so diverse it's tough to say. If this comes along the coast, which I presume it does, my best guess is that marker is Yoruba (probably) and Igbo (possibly). Outside of height, Yorubas and Igbos look primarily the same.

I was shown to have East African and Eurasian genetics which is typical of Lower Egyptians. Hope to get the exact figures when I send another swab in August.

First, I wouldn't take Snoops results with any grain. Not that an African-American can't be 29% non-African, but his results were way off the normal trend of the average African-American genetic make-up, with a noticeable increased amount of Native American ancestry, not only in regard to him but among other celebs who got their results via the George Lopez show. The company the show used has seen some critique in regard to some of their measures used in order to determine ones genetic ancestry.

www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/playing-with-dna-is-larry_b_402795.html

"Finally, these tests are based on genetic variations called SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms), and according to genetic genealogy expert, Dr. Ann Turner, "There are virtually no SNPs that are one hundred percent informative for ancestry - always found in one continent and never in another." [Full disclosure: Dr. Turner and I are co-authors of Trace Your Roots with DNA.] The ideal would be to have SNPs that are only found in those of African heritage, for instance, but it's a little more complicated than that. Autosomal tests offered today are based on dense, genome-wide scans which allow us to investigate combinations of multiple SNPs - and that leads to my one quibble with what Lopez Tonight is doing. They're using outdated testing (based on individual SNPs)."

"While the particular test the show is using was once the best (and for a long time, the only) available for ancestral purposes, newer ones based on far more thorough scans are considerably more accurate. To put it into perspective, taking this kind of test today is a bit like listening to music on a cassette player instead of an mp3 player. Those of us who like to play with DNA are scratching our heads about why a 2005 product is being used when it's practically 2010."

In regard to your friend, not that I'm doubting you, his genetic ancestry is also VERY "off" aswell. What company did you use, and how did they determine Irish ancestry and not simply European.

80% of the African-American population is at least 75% African
20% of the African-American population is less than, almost all of whom being at least 50% African.
70% of the African-American population is at least 85% African
~42% of the African-American population possess no non-African admixture
5% of the African-American population is at least 12.5% Native American

The average African-American is 87% African and 13% European... most of the African-Americans who tested with 23andMe were on average ~70% African. According to most studies, the West/Central African input into the African-American population is also about ~70%. 23andMe for the most part does not sample any other African populations outside West/Central Africa.

Sundiata is 100% correct, 23andMe is incredibly biased towards Europeans, in which they sample various populations in which they dub Europeans... therefore possibly grouping some African or Asian derived admixture into the European category, a problem noted in some studies, researchers asigning genetic lineages shared between both non-Africans and some Africans into European clusters, when evidence points to recent African origin. For much of the Eurasian blue found among some Africans in the Tishkoff study was later determined to have had been of African and not European origin, for example the Beja who around ~30% "Eurasian or Saharan/Dogon" blue in the Tishkoff study (further determined to have had been of predominant "Saharan/Dogon" origin), but only 5% non-African according to uni-parental ancestry. On the other hand they use a relatively small sample of West Africans to represent the entire African continent. Therefore some Africans and African diaspora groups would be given results which are way off their actual African input, since 23andMe only recognizes West/Central African ancestry.

For example, the results of an Eritrean on 23andMe were reported to have had been 1% African and 99% European. The only African sample was from Nigeria. When he took another test with another company, in which they had another sample from a Kenyan Bantu population, his African ancestry jumped to 40%. If an additional sample from lets say Somalia or Ethiopia were added, his African ancestry would likely triple to ~90%.

Other African ancestry among African-Americans is well known, 8-15%, therefore if 23andMe expanded their samples from Africa, more results would parallel the accurate evidence.

[doctorisscientia]

Most of the African disporia individuals publically tested were atleast 80% African.

[egyptianplanet]

LOL @ "whitey". Indeed, I am pretty dark so if you saw me you'd see why this isn't what I'd expect, though obviously this further demonstrates that skin color isn't a "racial trait" any more than any other phenotype.

Interesting isn't it? And just because you're say 1% European or 99% European doesn't make you any less European it just means you've more or less things attributed to your genome. Skin color is probably the worst indication you can use to find out a person's ancestry.

I've been called everything from Greek, Italian, and half-Black but never Egyptian. I'm light brown but my features are very African. An aquiline, straight nose, very large lips (especially the lower lip) and almond shaped eyes that are quite large.

I think Lower Egyptians are 60% African to 40% Eurasian so I expect to find something similar when I do my tests. I'm almost positive they'll link me to a tribe in Ethiopia. It's amazing how much the world has mixed within the last millenia, that's alright we'll all be one world soon.

So do you have any intentions on going to Africa to find your native tribe?

[truthteacher2007]

Jul 12, 2010 15:14:29 GMT -5 doctorisscientia said:

Jul 12, 2010 8:30:25 GMT -5 egyptianplanet said:

I think Snoop had 29% non-African ancestry as well. It's not surprising. I have a friend who's dark as night, I took him to take a pretty well known DNA test and turns out he's 40% Irish. He took a swab and that's what it told him. I don't know how they'd try to hide that fact but here he was.. much darker than me and much more European than me.

Just be happy, Whitey.



Nigeria is so diverse it's tough to say. If this comes along the coast, which I presume it does, my best guess is that marker is Yoruba (probably) and Igbo (possibly). Outside of height, Yorubas and Igbos look primarily the same.

I was shown to have East African and Eurasian genetics which is typical of Lower Egyptians. Hope to get the exact figures when I send another swab in August.

First, I wouldn't take Snoops results with any grain. Not that an African-American can't be 29% non-African, but his results were way off the normal trend of the average African-American genetic make-up, with a noticeable increased amount of Native American ancestry, not only in regard to him but among other celebs who got their results via the George Lopez show. The company the show used has seen some critique in regard to some of their measures used in order to determine ones genetic ancestry.

www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/playing-with-dna-is-larry_b_402795.html

"Finally, these tests are based on genetic variations called SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms), and according to genetic genealogy expert, Dr. Ann Turner, "There are virtually no SNPs that are one hundred percent informative for ancestry - always found in one continent and never in another." [Full disclosure: Dr. Turner and I are co-authors of Trace Your Roots with DNA.] The ideal would be to have SNPs that are only found in those of African heritage, for instance, but it's a little more complicated than that. Autosomal tests offered today are based on dense, genome-wide scans which allow us to investigate combinations of multiple SNPs - and that leads to my one quibble with what Lopez Tonight is doing. They're using outdated testing (based on individual SNPs)."

"While the particular test the show is using was once the best (and for a long time, the only) available for ancestral purposes, newer ones based on far more thorough scans are considerably more accurate. To put it into perspective, taking this kind of test today is a bit like listening to music on a cassette player instead of an mp3 player. Those of us who like to play with DNA are scratching our heads about why a 2005 product is being used when it's practically 2010."

In regard to your friend, not that I'm doubting you, his genetic ancestry is also VERY "off" aswell. What company did you use, and how did they determine Irish ancestry and not simply European.

80% of the African-American population is at least 75% African
20% of the African-American population is less than, almost all of whom being at least 50% African.
70% of the African-American population is at least 85% African
~42% of the African-American population possess no non-African admixture
5% of the African-American population is at least 12.5% Native American

The average African-American is 87% African and 13% European... most of the African-Americans who tested with 23andMe were on average ~70% African. According to most studies, the West/Central African input into the African-American population is also about ~70%. 23andMe for the most part does not sample any other African populations outside West/Central Africa.

Sundiata is 100% correct, 23andMe is incredibly biased towards Europeans, in which they sample various populations in which they dub Europeans... therefore possibly grouping some African or Asian derived admixture into the European category, a problem noted in some studies, researchers asigning genetic lineages shared between both non-Africans and some Africans into European clusters, when evidence points to recent African origin. For much of the Eurasian blue found among some Africans in the Tishkoff study was later determined to have had been of African and not European origin, for example the Beja who around ~30% "Eurasian or Saharan/Dogon" blue in the Tishkoff study (further determined to have had been of predominant "Saharan/Dogon" origin), but only 5% non-African according to uni-parental ancestry. On the other hand they use a relatively small sample of West Africans to represent the entire African continent. Therefore some Africans and African diaspora groups would be given results which are way off their actual African input, since 23andMe only recognizes West/Central African ancestry.

For example, the results of an Eritrean on 23andMe were reported to have had been 1% African and 99% European. The only African sample was from Nigeria. When he took another test with another company, in which they had another sample from a Kenyan Bantu population, his African ancestry jumped to 40%. If an additional sample from lets say Somalia or Ethiopia were added, his African ancestry would likely triple to ~90%.

Other African ancestry among African-Americans is well known, 8-15%, therefore if 23andMe expanded their samples from Africa, more results would parallel the accurate evidence.

This is part of the reason why I'm a bit skitish about getting tested. For one thing, the cost, knowing which is the best company to use and how accurate the tests are. I also find that the companies I searched were not exactly forth coming about the limitations of these tests.

For example, many people are running out to get tested so they can know which African tribe they came from. How is this possible? We are a composite of so many different African peoples, how can you pick one and say that's it? What about all the other groups that contributed to your lineage? So you will match up with something, but that doesn't tell you the whole story, nor do i think the technology at this point is capable. However, the company that does this test doesn't tell people that.

I also find what you shared about the progress of the technology within the past 5 years to be very important as well. Really gives pause for thought with regards to all those Egyptian DNA test findings.

I think it would be interesting to learn a bit more about ourselves, butI would caution anyone to not base their sense of identity on the basis of any DNA test. I'd just keep in mind that it doesn't tell the whole story.

[beyoku]

It really depends on who you test with. They all have there advantages. 23andMe is prettyu reliable when it comes to your uniparentals and the medical information but for us Africans and people of African descent that is pretty much it. 23 and me global similariy sucks. I am speaking with a Kenyan who is L0a* and B2a1a and is most similar to Southern Africans.....I also cluster closer to Kenyans than he does............Plus I am more "African" than he is which is laughable. Their Ancestry paining sux.

For example, many people are running out to get tested so they can know which African tribe they came from.

It depends on the company and the tests. From ONE perspective its is almost impossible because New World people of African descent are undoubtedly a mixture of different African Ethnic groups....Unless they they have been inbreeding in a limited gene pool for a few hundred years. So Lets assume you had a pretty exclusive Maternal lineage like L3x which his pretty exclusive to the Horn especially amongst Oromo. If you were also E1a or E1b1a81a how could they tell you you are "Ethiopian" based on only half your Ancestry.......very distant ancestry at that, That L3x woman could have been plucked directly from the horn of Africa 400 years ago or could have been the descendant from a lineage that traveled anywhere else in Africa 1000 years ago. Your Y dna leads you to the west. These uniparetnal markers dont really tell you anything unless they are exclusive....At this point 23and me becomes useless for ancestry.


INDIVIDUALLY though, that is a different case. This is a quick breakdown of the Maximum % of Ancestry found in African Americans from Tishkoff et al:

Fulani: 24%
Nilo-Saharan: 21%
Chadic: 29%
KhoiSan: 5%
Niger-Kordofanian (non Bantu)Mandinka: 41%
Niger-Kordofanian (Bantu): 75%
Hadza: 6%
Cushitic: 11%
Pygmy: 11%

You still run into the problem of not being 100% of ANYTHING. But this same issue occurs on the African continent. And again since you are a mixed of different groups of Africans...........let say Snoop is 24% Fulani, but MOSTLY Niger Kordofanian. Does he start saying he descends from Fulani just because he looks like them? Partly...I guess.



BUT if the company DNA Tribes does have autosomal data from their very long list of Samples found here :egyptsearchreloaded.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=bag&action=display&thread=362

Why wouldn't it work? Then again we have to see how they do it.
Then again HOW exactly are they differentiating these populations?

[egyptianplanet]

I think the reason for that is due to the diversity of Africa and the migrating of the populations at the time. They weren't stagnant quite like the Europeans and East Asians were.

When sundiata's results came in telling him he was Niger-Congo a red flag came out that he's likely Yoruba:

Imhotep:
Africa 59%
Europe 23%
Asia 18%

Your European ancestry, if you are from Louisiana, is probably French/German as opposed to Northern Afro-Americans that would likely be Anglo/Irish/German.

[doctorisscientia]

Jul 13, 2010 8:30:24 GMT -5 beyoku said:

It really depends on who you test with. They all have there advantages. 23andMe is prettyu reliable when it comes to your uniparentals and the medical information but for us Africans and people of African descent that is pretty much it. 23 and me global similariy sucks. I am speaking with a Kenyan who is L0a* and B2a1a and is most similar to Southern Africans.....I also cluster closer to Kenyans than he does............Plus I am more "African" than he is which is laughable. Their Ancestry paining sux.

For example, many people are running out to get tested so they can know which African tribe they came from.

It depends on the company and the tests. From ONE perspective its is almost impossible because New World people of African descent are undoubtedly a mixture of different African Ethnic groups....Unless they they have been inbreeding in a limited gene pool for a few hundred years. So Lets assume you had a pretty exclusive Maternal lineage like L3x which his pretty exclusive to the Horn especially amongst Oromo. If you were also E1a or E1b1a81a how could they tell you you are "Ethiopian" based on only half your Ancestry.......very distant ancestry at that, That L3x woman could have been plucked directly from the horn of Africa 400 years ago or could have been the descendant from a lineage that traveled anywhere else in Africa 1000 years ago. Your Y dna leads you to the west. These uniparetnal markers dont really tell you anything unless they are exclusive....At this point 23and me becomes useless for ancestry.


INDIVIDUALLY though, that is a different case. This is a quick breakdown of the Maximum % of Ancestry found in African Americans from Tishkoff et al:

Fulani: 24%
Nilo-Saharan: 21%
Chadic: 29%
KhoiSan: 5%
Niger-Kordofanian (non Bantu)Mandinka: 41%
Niger-Kordofanian (Bantu): 75%
Hadza: 6%
Cushitic: 11%
Pygmy: 11%

You still run into the problem of not being 100% of ANYTHING. But this same issue occurs on the African continent. And again since you are a mixed of different groups of Africans...........let say Snoop is 24% Fulani, but MOSTLY Niger Kordofanian. Does he start saying he descends from Fulani just because he looks like them? Partly...I guess.



BUT if the company DNA Tribes does have autosomal data from their very long list of Samples found here :egyptsearchreloaded.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=bag&action=display&thread=362

Why wouldn't it work? Then again we have to see how they do it.
Then again HOW exactly are they differentiating these populations?

100% co-sign. 23andMe is good and reliable in regard to some tests, and in a sense some people. But their results should not be taken into consideration without any doubt, in particular in regards to Africans and African disporia populations. Do you have access to some of the results of any African individuals, i.e. ancestry painting.

An African-American recieved his results from 23andMe, in which his African ancestry was ~60%. When he recieved his results from another company, which used a much wider array of African samples, his African ancestry increased dramatically to 85%.

[doctorisscientia]

Jul 13, 2010 9:57:07 GMT -5 egyptianplanet said:

I think the reason for that is due to the diversity of Africa and the migrating of the populations at the time. They weren't stagnant quite like the Europeans and East Asians were.

When sundiata's results came in telling him he was Niger-Congo a red flag came out that he's likely Yoruba:

Imhotep:
Africa 59%
Europe 23%
Asia 18%

Your European ancestry, if you are from Louisiana, is probably French/German as opposed to Northern Afro-Americans that would likely be Anglo/Irish/German.

The average European admixture among African-Americans in Lousinana-New Orleans is on average 21%. 79% African. Native American admixture hardly detected.

I see a common trend in which pathetic samples and mislabeling in regard to Africans, leads to the appearance of decreased African ancestry... and increased European and/or Asian (Native American???) ancestry. if Imhoteps results mirros other African-Americans who tested with 23andMe his African ancestry would liekly double if tested under fair and accurate conditions. ~80%.

And in regard to you, please post your results. What company are you using? 23andMe and other similar genetic companies are terriable when it comes to East Africans. If your like the Eritrean I mentioned, don't be surprised if your results read: 1% African and 99% European. Instead of the accurate ~65% African and ~35% non-African it should read, in regard to you being Lower Egyptian.