During a search on the Internet for genealogy information I came across the term “genetic genealogy.” I did not know what it meant, and I did not look into it at the time because it sounded like it could be rather scientific, and I was not in a scientific mood.
However, today, I decided that I would learn what genetic genealogy is all about. Genetic genealogy combines traditional genealogy with genetic testing to determine the level of genetic relationship between individuals. In other words, how similar is your genetic makeup to that of your ancestors?
Genetic genealogy is a relatively new area of research. Much of the research that has been done on genetic genealogy was done within the past ten years. As I suspected, much of the information that I read about genetic genealogy is highly technical. While it is not completely over my head (I took many science classes in college), it is a bit much for a blog post that aims simply to explain what genetic genealogy is and how it is used.
Some of the things that researchers have been able to find out through genetic genealogy are quite fascinating. For example, genetic genealogy research has shown that 3.5 million Ashkenazi (Jewish people that have Central and Eastern European ancestry) are the descendants of just four women who lived in Europe less than 2000 years ago.
As fascinating as genetic genealogy is, it is rather expensive to have genetic testing done. After reading about genetic genealogy, I am left with the impression that one must be very, very curious about their ancestry and up against some serious brick walls in their genealogical research in order for genetic genealogy testing to be appealing. Either that or they have some money to play around with. Needless to say, I am intrigued, but I will not be ordering any DNA testing kits any time soon.