Tracing DNA?

Question

I basically have no clue what my heritage is, I know bits and pieces but I'd like to know more...

I've heard that you can take a persons DNA and find out what race(s) they are? Is this true?

Can I do this and find out my anscestory?

Answer 1

The best thing is to trace your ancestry with documents and records. DNA can be used as a supplement but it doesn't take the place of research.  Anytime you wish to do this, there are a lot of great people on this board that can give you some good tips and advice.  Just ask.

Y DNA is passed from father to son only

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to both sons and daughters but only the daughters pass it on to their children.

Y & Mitchondrial are used in genealogy as they go back in a straight line virtually unchanged.  They are used for people to try and match their family tree with someone else's family tree.

Most of your DNA is autosomal.  You get it 50-50 from both parents coming down from all your ancestors.  It is where you get your appearance and physical characteristics such as height, bone structure, pigmentation etc.   It is the only DNA that relates a female to her father or anyone to the spouses and their families of their direct Y & Mitochondrial lines.

If you get back to your 6xgreat grandparents, barring any duplicates, you are directly descended from 510 individuals. It pyramids as you go back. Of those 510, you get your mitochondrial DNA from 8 and if you are male your Y DNA from only 8 but you get your autosomal DNA from all 510.  

DNA testing companies are working to use autosomal. It will be more complicated.

As long as they are using only Y & mitochondrial it gives you a very incomplete of picture of your background. Also, what they will give you is not specific nationalities or specific races or ethnicities but something like Northern European.  

Put FamilyTreeDNA in your search engine. They are the largest and oldest in genealogy DNA.

Another  group is SMGF. They do it for free but will not send you a report.  It took about 6 months for mine to show up on their website.  They have contracted with GeneTree to interpret the results and I got my mitochondrial interpreted for $19.50.  You have to have a signon with GeneTree which is free.

http://www.smgf.org/pages/how_it_works.j...