The proof is in our DNA

These ancestral DNA tests work by comparing a sample of your DNA against a pool of samples from all over the world. They then match your DNA to what is found in samples from various regions, and thereby come up with your approximate genetic history. They are not perfect representations of your ancestry.

So the further back in time you go, the less accurate the test becomes, as there are fewer samples to draw from.

By the way, anyone who thinks these tests lead back to a "common ancestor" only a few thousand years ago, please remember how these tests work and that they have limitations dependant upon sample size. So if you go back far enough, they'll only be able to match your sample against a very limited sample pool.

a reply to: wtske

Indeed the "ethnicity" they assign, is basically a percentage, the highest being "where you are from". DNA can not tell you where your ancestors were actually from, just most likely. Well these tests. These tests trace SNPs from non coding mutations in mitochondria and if you are a boy, your Y Chromosome.

These tests do have a good use. When a white nationalist gets shown they had sub Saharan African ancestors That is worth all the research grants in history.

originally posted by: galaga
a Russian woman had Native American blood.

?

I think I remember this, wasn't it a Russian peasant woman making the claim. Turns out she'd never been tested but was also making claims about Atlantis in brazil or some such nonsense and just wrote her ancestors into the story