According to the LivingDNA documentation "Typically, recent ancestry results can trace back approximately 10 generations in your family lineage." Most of us don't know our origins back that far across our total ancestry so it could be that our expectations from what we know of more recent generations are misleading.
The table below compares my old and new results and the difference. My conclusions are:
1. My new results show a 10.7% decrease in European ancestry. This is likely owing to the new results attributing 12.2% to Levant. Add that to the 13% now attributed to South Germanic and it sums to the amount I'd expect as I had one Jewish grandparent.
2. A 52.8% decrease in Britain and Ireland is likely mainly due to the reassignment of 38.1% from Southeast England to 45.3% newly attributed to France.
3. The small amounts previously attributed to Europe (South), Europe (East) and Asia (South) no longer appear.
4. The new results are counterintuitive to my expectations from known family history, especially the decreased amounts for South Wales Border and Northwest England.
5. I'm doubtful about the validity of British Isles results for amounts less than 10%.
| Old | New | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 98.5% | 87.8% | -10.7% |
| Great Britain and Ireland | 84.2% | 31.4% | -52.8% |
| South Wales Border | 20.8% | 2.8% | -18.0% |
| Northwest England | 10.6% | 2.6% | -8.0% |
| South Central England | 9.9% | 3.4% | -6.5% |
| North Yorkshire | 4.1% | 4.1% | |
| South Yorkshire | 7.9% | 4.1% | -3.8% |
| Ireland | 7.4% | 6.4% | -1.0% |
| Northwest Scotland | 5.5% | -5.5% | |
| Devon | 5.3% | -5.3% | |
| Southeast England | 40.0% | 1.9% | -38.1% |
| East Anglia | 1.8% | 1.8% | |
| Lincolnshire | 3.3% | -3.3% | |
| Cumbria | 2.8% | -2.8% | |
| Central England | 2.6% | 1.6% | -1.0% |
| Cornwall | 2.3% | -2.3% | |
| South Wales | 1.6% | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| South England | 1.1% | 1.1% | |
| Europe (North and West) | 8.7% | 56.3% | 47.6% |
| Scandinavia | 8.7% | -8.7% | |
| France | 0.0% | 43.5% | 43.5% |
| South Germanic | 0.0% | 13.0% | 13.0% |
| Europe (South) | 4.3% | -4.3% | |
| Tuscany | 1.8% | -1.8% | |
| Iberian Peninsula | 1.3% | -1.3% | |
| Aegean | 1.2% | -1.2% | |
| Europe (East) | 1.4% | -1.4% | |
| East Balkans | 1.4% | -1.4% | |
| Near East | 12.2% | 12.2% | |
| Levant | 12.1% | 12.1% | |
| Asia (South) | 1.4% | -1.4% | |
| Pashtun | 1.4% | -1.4% |
If you've taken a LivingDNA test and received new results please share a summary in the comments.
I have looked at my LivingDNA update and the areas England have changed to a small degree. But I was surprised that the East Anglia % dropped from 17% to 7% as I would expect it to be higher. I lost the small Scottish percentage that I expected from my 4g grandparents - perhaps it has turned into Northumbria and Northwest England. Previously I was 20% Europe South. This included 8.3% Iberian Peninsula, 6% Tuscany & 6% South Italy. This has turned into 10% Tuscany (presumably from my Great Grandfather who came from Northern Italy). I now have 7% West Iberia and 7% Northwest Germanic. This is likely from my Jewish great grandmother. I wonder if it is remotely possible that one of her parents was Ashkenazi and the other Sephardic. Interesting changes but the map shown in the earlier results seemed to reflect my known English ancestry a bit more accurately.
ReplyDeleteHelen Billing
Ashkenazi Jews would not score a South Germanic result. While Living DNA doesn’t have an Ashkenazi marker, the results we receive a uniform across the board. Ashkenazi Jews cluster among Southern Europeans and Near Eastern populations. I have compared my results with other European Jews and the results are remarkably similar. We receive a small percentage of Eastern European ancestry (Northeast Europe) but not Germanic ancestry. Ashkenazi Jews do not cluster near Germanic populations.
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