Do you ever wonder where your (distant) ancestors come from? Or do you want to know whether you have Asian, African, European or American blood in you? Then you can have a DNA descent check done. This is also called a biogeographical descent test, ethnicity study, ancestry study or genetic genealogy. It is very easy these days to test your dna. Search for ‘legal dna testing near me’ and you will be served at your beck and call. This is one of the many dna tests there is to be found, including for example a dna paternity test.
What does an ethnicity test do?
Companies that carry out DNA parentage testing compare your DNA with that of others. We call these others a reference group. These are often the other clients of that company.
People who come from the same part of the world have more of the same pieces of DNA. By comparing your DNA with the other customers, the reference group, they can estimate where your ancestors came from. They all do this in their own way, and with different reference groups. Because of this, tests done by different companies can give different results. This also means that the results of that dna test, also that of yourself, will be saved in their database.
Relatives
Sometimes, when taking a DNA test for parentage, you can indicate that you want to be put in touch with distant relatives. If relatives of yours have taken a DNA test at the same company, they may be linked to you. This can lead to surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. You may find out that you are adopted. Or you may find the biological family you have been looking for for a long time. But maybe nothing comes of it at all. Or you may be approached by people you don’t feel like dealing with.
The reference group is the group of people who come from a certain area. Is your DNA very similar to that of people from a certain area? Then the test will show that you have ancestors in that area. But a company does not have the DNA of all people and areas. Sometimes the company does not have the DNA of people from the area where your ancestors come from. In that case, the test cannot predict where your ancestors come from at all. The test can give a result that you do not expect or that is not correct.
