[Misc] Archaeological DNA matches

albionalba said:

I noticed a newish feature on my 23andme account recently where archaeological DNA from specific individuals from digs etc has been added to comparisons showing (in my case) small percentage matches with various Vikings (including an unusual burial in Estonia that had been in a tv documentary), some Dark Ages folk and most recently a few Roman individuals. These are individual, single digit % matches, not the DNA general history / origins that Ancestry and 23andme has had for some time - and there has been the King Richard stuff also. Absolutely fascinating. But totally boring to anyone else probably!

I've seen a few posts about ancestry stuff on NSC in the past so just wondered if anyone else on 23andme had seen the new feature and if so what it has revealed for them in terms of specific archaeological ancestors? I've also noticed that there are other websites now that just specialise in matching you to samples from ancient remains.

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albionalba said:

I noticed a newish feature on my 23andme account recently where archaeological DNA from specific individuals from digs etc has been added to comparisons showing (in my case) small percentage matches with various Vikings (including an unusual burial in Estonia that had been in a tv documentary), some Dark Ages folk and most recently a few Roman individuals. These are individual, single digit % matches, not the DNA general history / origins that Ancestry and 23andme has had for some time - and there has been the King Richard stuff also. Absolutely fascinating. But totally boring to anyone else probably!

I've seen a few posts about ancestry stuff on NSC in the past so just wondered if anyone else on 23andme had seen the new feature and if so what it has revealed for them in terms of specific archaeological ancestors? I've also noticed that there are other websites now that just specialise in matching you to samples from ancient remains.

Click to expand...

aftershavedave said:

Regarding DNA matches, I had a roadblock for many many years trying to establish where an ancestor in Norfolk was from. The census records didn't help, but through DNA matching I identified the birthplace and took the tree back much further

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albionalba said:

I noticed a newish feature on my 23andme account recently where archaeological DNA from specific individuals from digs etc has been added to comparisons showing (in my case) small percentage matches with various Vikings (including an unusual burial in Estonia that had been in a tv documentary), some Dark Ages folk and most recently a few Roman individuals. These are individual, single digit % matches, not the DNA general history / origins that Ancestry and 23andme has had for some time - and there has been the King Richard stuff also. Absolutely fascinating. But totally boring to anyone else probably!

I've seen a few posts about ancestry stuff on NSC in the past so just wondered if anyone else on 23andme had seen the new feature and if so what it has revealed for them in terms of specific archaeological ancestors? I've also noticed that there are other websites now that just specialise in matching you to samples from ancient remains.

Click to expand...

aftershavedave said:

I have done a DNA test on ancestry.com and it is fascinating. I thought though that ancestry only go back a few generations because before that the results are statistically insignificant? Hope I misread!

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Bob! said:

Where do I find this new feature.
I've looked after seeing your post and can't find it.

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papachris said:

That's interesting! I emigrated to Estonia nearly 4 years ago but I hadn't heard about an unusual Viking burial. Do you know where it is? Estonia is only a small country

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Fungus said:

View attachment 191406

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Biscuit said:

It sounds incredible to see actual connections to specific ancient individuals, like Vikings or Romans, especially with such a close, direct link to archaeological discoveries. Much more real to be able to name-drop actual Vikings instead of just saying you’re “part Scandinavian.

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aftershavedave said:

Regarding DNA matches, I had a roadblock for many many years trying to establish where an ancestor in Norfolk was from. The census records didn't help, but through DNA matching I identified the birthplace and took the tree back much further

Click to expand...

Fungus said:

Correct, beyond about five generations back, the certainties are too low. The ethnicity estimates relate to 500-1000 years ago, so no real use for finding ancestors. The 23&me thing seems to need a premium payment, so don’t think I’ll be bothered with that!

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Biscuit said:

That's really interesting. I've seen a bit about this but haven’t explored it myself.

It sounds incredible to see actual connections to specific ancient individuals, like Vikings or Romans, especially with such a close, direct link to archaeological discoveries. Much more real to be able to name-drop actual Vikings instead of just saying you’re “part Scandinavian.”

Click to expand...