How Recent was an Ancestor from a Region?

One of the struggles that we deal with is trying to figure out when an ancestor from a specific region of the world occurred when reviewing your DNA results.

23andMe recently added a new feature to DNA results that will help many in determining when to search for a specific ancestor and where.  The new feature provides you with a timeline that then places the ethnicity within a time period. Below are my results on 23andMe.  This is a newly added feature if you’re on the line on whether you should do an ancestral test with 23andMe.

My 23andMe DNA Results

My middle eastern is in sync with my family tree as my great grandfather who was the last from that region of the world was born in the 1800s and died in 1949.  The test results are not perfect as he was born closer to the 1870s but it still is better than nothing when you’re playing guessing games. I know that I can research my African ancestry in Puerto Rico since I have a line that comes from Gabon and yes it is smacked right where West Africa appears.  If you have your test done at 23andMe previously, I recommend that you go and visit the page found under reports.

The best feature about it is that it lets you know what level of great grandparents existed at the time.  So hovering over my North African, you’ll see where the bubble window pops up and provides additional information. A step in the right direction for 23andMe.