Earl Sewell's Blog - Posts Tagged "dna-test"
Earl Sewell's DNA Ethnicity Test
Recently, I completed an ethnicity test through Ancestry.com. I did it out of curiosity because I wanted to learn more about my ancestors. I found one surprise. According to the results, I am 78% West African and 15% Viking.
From the West African perspective I realize that my ancestors were enslaved and survived not only the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean but several hundred years of slavery. Whoever my West African ancestors were they had to have been very strong physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally to have survived. In my heart and soul, I know that I am standing on their shoulders and carrying the hope for a better day they probably prayed and longed for.
From the Viking point of view I realize that at some point in my ancestral past, a woman that was, African, African-American, English or Viking gave birth to a child that also survived and passed along the DNA that is inside of me. Below is the full report of the results.
About West African Ethnicity
Modern Day Location
Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Congo, and various other nations along Africa's west coast, from The Gambia to Equatorial Guinea
Did You Know?
Yams were domesticated in Western Africa and are still a popular staple.
About Your Region
Your ethnicity indicates that you have ancestry from West Africa, an area that stretches along the continent's Atlantic coast from the desolate sands of the Sahara in Mauritania and Mali to the humid canopies of the central African rain forests in Gabon and Congo. Camel caravans once hauled rock salt from desert mines through the legendary city of Timbuktu. And it's the only place on Earth where you can see a lowland gorilla outside of a zoo.
The people of this region trace their ethnic and cultural roots to numerous different sources. The Tuareg Berbers in the predominantly Muslim north are descended from the desert nomads of the Sahara; the sub-Saharan African populations including the Hausa, Mandinka, and Youruba are descendents of the ancient western kingdoms that dominated the region before the arrival of European colonists; the Baka of Cameroon and Gabon, previously referred to as "pygmies," are some of the oldest residents of the area; and the Bantu language group, which originated in Cameroon, is spoken across the entire southern half of the continent.
European colonialism and exploitation, including a centuries-long slave trade, as well as brutal civil wars, despotism, and uncontrolled governmental corruption in the post-colonial era have kept the region mired in poverty. Since the end of Liberia's second civil war in 2003, the region has seen a stretch of relative peace and a decrease in corruption. Hopefully the future will bring prosperity to this region.
Migrations into this region
Western Africa was first occupied by modern humans about 50,000 years ago. More recently, the colonial period saw immigrants from many European countries establish colonies and trading posts throughout Western Africa. However, the genetic impact of these historical Europeans is thought to be very small.
Migrations from this region
The majority of African-Americans ancestry derives from Western Africa. This is mostly because during the Atlantic slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, African slaves from the coastal regions of Western Africa were captured and shipped to the Americas. Even groups further inland were sometimes captured and traded out to the coast for slavery.
About Scandinavian Ethnicity
Modern Day Location
Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Did You Know?
In the northern latitudes, the sun rarely dips below the horizon in the summer, meaning very long days and very short nights. However, the tables are turned the rest of the year, with almost no daylight at all in the middle winter months.
About Your Region
Looks like you may have some Viking blood in you. Your genetic ethnicity ties you to Scandinavia, which includes the modern-day nations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. While the Vikings were feared by the coastal towns of medieval Europe as seaborne raiders and violent pillagers, they were also well-travelled merchants and ambitious explorers. They raided the Mediterranean coast of Africa, settled areas as far south as the Black Sea, and traded with the Byzantine Empire. And it was a Norse sailor, Leif Ericson, who is credited with being the first European to travel to North America—500 years before Columbus.
And it wasn't just the Vikings who had an irrepressible urge for adventure. In the days of the mighty Roman Empire, the Goths, originally from Sweden, wandered south and settled in what is now eastern Germany. In the year 410, they invaded and sacked Rome, setting the stage for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In the more recent past, the Scandinavian nations have embraced a new identity. Considering their neutrality during the World Wars, high quality of life, and relatively egalitarian societies, they are known more for their peaceful ways than their ancient Viking lineage might suggest.
Migrations into this region
As the glaciers retreated from Northern Europe, roaming groups of hunter-gatherers from Southern Europe followed reindeer herds inland and marine resources along the Scandinavian coast. Neolithic farmers eventually settled the region beginning about 6,000 years ago. However, the tradition of hunting and reindeer-herding remains among the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. The Sami formerly occupied much of northern Scandinavia and Russia, and likely had connections with the Volga-Ural region (where there are other languages similar to Finnish and Sami).
Migrations from this region
The rise of the Viking culture spread Scandinavian ancestry far throughout Europe. Their earliest coastal voyages took them to Scotland, northeastern England and established the settlement of Dublin, Ireland. As their power continued to grow, the Vikings spread farther afield, down the Volga River in Russia, to the coast of France and Spain. But perhaps their most famous accomplishments were the oceanic voyages across the Atlantic, establishing villages in Iceland and Greenland and exploring the northern coast of Canada. Few, if any of the early Scandinavian settlers, are thought to have survived in the Americas. However, Iceland remains a flourishing post of Scandinavian language and culture.
From the West African perspective I realize that my ancestors were enslaved and survived not only the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean but several hundred years of slavery. Whoever my West African ancestors were they had to have been very strong physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally to have survived. In my heart and soul, I know that I am standing on their shoulders and carrying the hope for a better day they probably prayed and longed for.
From the Viking point of view I realize that at some point in my ancestral past, a woman that was, African, African-American, English or Viking gave birth to a child that also survived and passed along the DNA that is inside of me. Below is the full report of the results.
About West African Ethnicity
Modern Day Location
Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Congo, and various other nations along Africa's west coast, from The Gambia to Equatorial Guinea
Did You Know?
Yams were domesticated in Western Africa and are still a popular staple.
About Your Region
Your ethnicity indicates that you have ancestry from West Africa, an area that stretches along the continent's Atlantic coast from the desolate sands of the Sahara in Mauritania and Mali to the humid canopies of the central African rain forests in Gabon and Congo. Camel caravans once hauled rock salt from desert mines through the legendary city of Timbuktu. And it's the only place on Earth where you can see a lowland gorilla outside of a zoo.
The people of this region trace their ethnic and cultural roots to numerous different sources. The Tuareg Berbers in the predominantly Muslim north are descended from the desert nomads of the Sahara; the sub-Saharan African populations including the Hausa, Mandinka, and Youruba are descendents of the ancient western kingdoms that dominated the region before the arrival of European colonists; the Baka of Cameroon and Gabon, previously referred to as "pygmies," are some of the oldest residents of the area; and the Bantu language group, which originated in Cameroon, is spoken across the entire southern half of the continent.
European colonialism and exploitation, including a centuries-long slave trade, as well as brutal civil wars, despotism, and uncontrolled governmental corruption in the post-colonial era have kept the region mired in poverty. Since the end of Liberia's second civil war in 2003, the region has seen a stretch of relative peace and a decrease in corruption. Hopefully the future will bring prosperity to this region.
Migrations into this region
Western Africa was first occupied by modern humans about 50,000 years ago. More recently, the colonial period saw immigrants from many European countries establish colonies and trading posts throughout Western Africa. However, the genetic impact of these historical Europeans is thought to be very small.
Migrations from this region
The majority of African-Americans ancestry derives from Western Africa. This is mostly because during the Atlantic slave trade of the 18th and 19th centuries, African slaves from the coastal regions of Western Africa were captured and shipped to the Americas. Even groups further inland were sometimes captured and traded out to the coast for slavery.
About Scandinavian Ethnicity
Modern Day Location
Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Did You Know?
In the northern latitudes, the sun rarely dips below the horizon in the summer, meaning very long days and very short nights. However, the tables are turned the rest of the year, with almost no daylight at all in the middle winter months.
About Your Region
Looks like you may have some Viking blood in you. Your genetic ethnicity ties you to Scandinavia, which includes the modern-day nations of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. While the Vikings were feared by the coastal towns of medieval Europe as seaborne raiders and violent pillagers, they were also well-travelled merchants and ambitious explorers. They raided the Mediterranean coast of Africa, settled areas as far south as the Black Sea, and traded with the Byzantine Empire. And it was a Norse sailor, Leif Ericson, who is credited with being the first European to travel to North America—500 years before Columbus.
And it wasn't just the Vikings who had an irrepressible urge for adventure. In the days of the mighty Roman Empire, the Goths, originally from Sweden, wandered south and settled in what is now eastern Germany. In the year 410, they invaded and sacked Rome, setting the stage for the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In the more recent past, the Scandinavian nations have embraced a new identity. Considering their neutrality during the World Wars, high quality of life, and relatively egalitarian societies, they are known more for their peaceful ways than their ancient Viking lineage might suggest.
Migrations into this region
As the glaciers retreated from Northern Europe, roaming groups of hunter-gatherers from Southern Europe followed reindeer herds inland and marine resources along the Scandinavian coast. Neolithic farmers eventually settled the region beginning about 6,000 years ago. However, the tradition of hunting and reindeer-herding remains among the Sami people of northern Scandinavia. The Sami formerly occupied much of northern Scandinavia and Russia, and likely had connections with the Volga-Ural region (where there are other languages similar to Finnish and Sami).
Migrations from this region
The rise of the Viking culture spread Scandinavian ancestry far throughout Europe. Their earliest coastal voyages took them to Scotland, northeastern England and established the settlement of Dublin, Ireland. As their power continued to grow, the Vikings spread farther afield, down the Volga River in Russia, to the coast of France and Spain. But perhaps their most famous accomplishments were the oceanic voyages across the Atlantic, establishing villages in Iceland and Greenland and exploring the northern coast of Canada. Few, if any of the early Scandinavian settlers, are thought to have survived in the Americas. However, Iceland remains a flourishing post of Scandinavian language and culture.
