My Ancestry DNA Results

Hello All Reichenbergers (and those of you non-Reichenbergers interested in reading my family blog).

So I got the results of my Ancestry DNA profile back. If you are interested in finding your genetic profile, you can check it out through the link here...  http://dna.ancestry.com

Before we discuss it, we have to cover some things to consider:

• Ancestry doesn't really break it down to specific nationalities, but rather breaks it down to generalized areas.  This makes sense since borders are historically political divisions, and many have come and gone, changed their shapes, and many people have crossed over these lines in the sand throughout history.  
• Also, when one claims their DNA hails from a particular area or region, they are saying that the individual markers in their DNA indicate they have markers in common with people in a particular region--it does not mean that there is an "Egyptian gene" or a "Russian gene." 
• In addition, please remember that I inherited half of my DNA from my mother and half from my father; these DNA results are not really translatable to any other Reichenberger (other than my sister and twin brother), but generically speaking, based on the results, you can get a sense of what it entails based on where I am located on the family tree, and using that in relation to you.
• Lastly, when discussing the proportions, it does not indicate if one is 50% british for instance, that all 50% came from one side of the family, but could be the accumulative aggregation of a number of different ancestors from the region.

So let's begin...

I am 88% Western European (area encompassing Germany, most of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and the northern portion of Italy).   The area represents one of the most diverse areas in the world, on account that there have been so many waves of migration and invasion covering the area over the years. My 88% actually makes me more akin to the area than the average person living in that area (48% average). To have such a high proportion of mono-regional genes from this particular region is uncommon and indicative of homogeneity (not intermixing with other gene sources). Technically speaking, this is potentially a source of exposure to common genetic diseases (color blindness, hemophilia, certain neurological disorders, etc.), as genetic disorders within common gene pools can enable recessive genes in the population to reveal themselves.

So in a nutshell, I'm about as German as German gets.

I have trace ancestry (5% or less of the following):

• 4% Finland/Northwest Russia
• 2% Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden)
• In the 5th century B.C., Germanic peoples began moving south, from Sweden, Denmark and northern Germany, displacing the Celts as they went. It is unclear what prompted their movement, but it may have been climate related, as they sought warmer weather and more fertile farmland. The Germanic tribes’ expansion was checked by the generals, Gaius Marius and Julius Caesar, as they approached the Roman provinces around 100 B.C.
• 2% Great Britain (British, Welsh, Scotish, etc.)
• Although “Celtic” is often associated with the people of Ireland and Scotland, the Celts emerged as a unique culture in central Europe more than 2,500 years ago. From an epicenter in what is now Austria, they spread and settled in the areas of today’s western Germany and eastern France, generally near the Rhine and Danube Rivers. By 450 B.C., their influence and Celtic languages had spread across most of western Europe, including the areas that are now France, the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles. The Celts either conquered or assimilated the previous inhabitants of the area, and almost all languages and cultural and religious customs were replaced. The only exception, most scholars believe, is the Basque language, which managed to persist in the Pyrenees of southern France and northern Spain.  In the early 4th century B.C., Celtic tribes in northern Italy invaded and sacked Rome, setting the stage for centuries of conflict.
• 2% Caucasus (Turk, Kurd, Persian, Syrian, etc)
• The first major migration into Western Europe is arguably the Neolithic expansion of farmers who came from the Middle East. From about 8,000 to 6,000 years ago these farmers filtered in through Turkey and brought with them wheat, cows and pigs. It is possible, too, that these people could have been the megalithic cultures who erected enormous stone monuments like the famous menhirs of Stonehenge. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of monuments scattered throughout prehistoric Europe, some serving as tombs, others possibly having astronomical significance.  It is from this migration that we derive the term "caucasian."
• 1% East European (Polish, Serb, Slav, Romanian, Ukrainian, etc)---this was the biggest surprise-- I would have thought this to be higher.
• The lack of eastern European influence is common historically for a number of reasons.  Germanic tribes typically extended westward and southward, not eastward which were more influenced by Russian tribes and less habitable climates.  Likewise, the extent of the Roman empire along with other empires of conquest typically extended as far eastward as Poland and then southward to the Balkans, and then eastward around the Mediterranean; seldom did it venture northeastern into more Slavic regions preventing migration and intermingling.  Lastly, the Byzantine empire, both the Christian as well as the ensuing Islamic influences, only extended as far as Romania, Hungary, and the southwestern European Slav regions, (the prevalence of the Orthodox church in these areas and not western Europe is a consequence of this).  The end result is that there are distinct differences between those in the eastern European nationalities and the western European groups. 
• Less than 1% European Jewish
• Less than 1% Irish

There were no evident african-american, asian (other than the caucasus region), native american, greek/italian, or Iberian (spanish/portugeuse) markers noticeable. 

What this says is that I am basically German and my heritage probably originated in Germany dating back to the Caucasus migration at least 6,000-8000 years ago.  The sparse other nationalities are probably residual throughout the population, and probably derive from instances very long ago with various invasions/migrations throughout European history.  To the extent I have been able to trace (back to the 1700s), most Reichenbergers hail from Bavaria, in and around Munich.

They have identified 38 people on Ancestry with which I have a DNA bond, the closest relatives being 3-4th cousins, with most being 4th-6th cousins. All are matches of "Extremely High" or "Very High" so they are almost certainly "relatives" somehow.  To find out more about them, I have to become an ancestry member, which I may do to view the connections; haven't decided yet. 

So there it is. If you are curious about your own, or want to know more about mine, let me know. 

Tony Reichenberger