National Geographic Project DNA Results

The National Geographic ancestry results came back, and I've been slightly confused and intrigued. Here is the breakdown of my results.

• Northern European

  44%

• Mediterranean

  35%

• Southwest Asian

  18%

• Native American

  
  

  2%

The Mediterranean and Southwest Asian percentages are what confused me the most. I never considered my heritage to be Mediterranean or Asian. But from what I understand, the National Geographic Project analyzes ancient DNA. The Mediterranean and Southwest Asian components reflect the out of Africa theory, in that all Europeans originally came from the hunting and gathering and farming populations in Northern Africa and Southern Europe. 

My reference populations are British and German. These are the modern populations I am most genetically similar to. I was surprised that I was not from a Scandinavian reference group, but the only reference group in that category is Finnish and Danish. Finns and Danes are 57% and 53% percent Northern European, which I am not.

I am also intrigued about the Native American percentage. I emailed the National Geographic Project and they said this percentage is indeed very small. The individual contributing this DNA would probably go back six generations. It could be that the rumors are true about my paternal grandmother's female line in Newfoundland, or it could be that one of my ancestors in Michigan had some Native American ancestry.  My only American born great-grandparent, David M. Taylor, is the only g-grandparent I have had difficulty tracing. How ironic!