Mom's Mom's Mom Looks Like?

[Newbie DNA]

I sorry I keep asking what must appear to be silly questions, but the answers almost read like the mantras of new religion, interesting if you know what it's about and confusing if you are an outsider. So, I've come up with 2 questions that may let me wrap my brain around this.

1. Assume my mom is Irish and Native American. Assume her mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her. Now, if I do an Mtdna am I going to get a haplogroup that shows only the oldest (African) or the most recent (Native American) or some mixes along the way (Irish and whatever). In other words, am I only seeing the "oldest strain" or something else. How do people report that their results show part European and part African??

2. Can someone point me to an article that is basic and beginner's level that's available on the web??

Thank you all for your attempts at education.

[Victor]

I sorry I keep asking what must appear to be silly questions, but the answers almost read like the mantras of new religion, interesting if you know what it's about and confusing if you are an outsider. So, I've come up with 2 questions that may let me wrap my brain around this.

1. Assume my mom is Irish and Native American. Assume her mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her. Now, if I do an Mtdna am I going to get a haplogroup that shows only the oldest (African) or the most recent (Native American) or some mixes along the way (Irish and whatever). In other words, am I only seeing the "oldest strain" or something else. How do people report that their results show part European and part African??

2. Can someone point me to an article that is basic and beginner's level that's available on the web??

Thank you all for your attempts at education.

Hello Newbie,

Maybe if you take a look at the charts in the following link you'll understand much better:

Y-DNA and mtDNA Inheritance Charts

When someone refers to a report that shows a percentage of European, African, etc., they are referring to a different kind of test called DNAPrint. (Do a search in this forum or "Google" it.) The mtDNA reveals your matrilineal haplogroup and nothing else. Your matrilineal ancestry goes back to the begginings of time.

Victor

[Jim Denning]

1. Assume my mom is Irish and Native American. Assume her mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her. Now, if I do an Mtdna am I going to get a haplogroup that shows only the oldest (African) or the most recent (Native American) or some mixes along the way (Irish and whatever). In other words, am I only seeing the "oldest strain" or something else. How do people report that their results show part European and part African??

it will show what all three women were because if they came from the womb of their mom they share the same mtdna there are no mixes
all three women would be the same basicly

for side lines you need to test cousins

[Jim Denning]

1. Assume my mom is Irish and Native American. Assume her mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her. Now, if I do an Mtdna am I going to get a haplogroup that shows only the oldest (African) or the most recent (Native American) or some mixes along the way (Irish and whatever). In other words, am I only seeing the "oldest strain" or something else. How do people report that their results show part European and part African??

it will show what all three women were because if they came from the womb of their mom they share the same mtdna there are no mixes
all three women would be the same basicly

for side lines you need to test cousins

if you mean they married diffeerent races ydna doesnt effect mtdna and they wouldnt get any ydna or mtdna from their dads

[haplogroupc]

I sorry I keep asking what must appear to be silly questions, but the answers almost read like the mantras of new religion, interesting if you know what it's about and confusing if you are an outsider. So, I've come up with 2 questions that may let me wrap my brain around this.

1. Assume my mom is Irish and Native American. Assume her mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her. Now, if I do an Mtdna am I going to get a haplogroup that shows only the oldest (African) or the most recent (Native American) or some mixes along the way (Irish and whatever). In other words, am I only seeing the "oldest strain" or something else. How do people report that their results show part European and part African??

2. Can someone point me to an article that is basic and beginner's level that's available on the web??

Thank you all for your attempts at education.

Newbie DNA,

Don’t worry. Your questions are good ones. It’s a tricky subject. I don’t know if I can help but I’ll try. The people who report part European and part African took the Ancestry By DNA test which a different company does. It only reveals recent ancestors. If your African ancestor was beyond a great grandparent it probably wouldn’t show up on the test.

The mtDNA test reveals your female line. You said, “Assume (your mom’s) mom is Native American. Assume grandma's mom's mom had some African in her.” Here’s a simple answer: in order for the African to show up on your mtDNA test, your great great great grandmother would have to have been African. Or, she would have to have descended from an African woman. If the African came from your great great great grandfather, then it would not show up on your mtDNA test. It all depends on what your female ancestor was.

[mananea]

A similar question about mtdna

Hi,
I have read through the thread, but I'm still confused.
A=me
B=my mom (Welsh)
C=GreatgreatGrandma (Full native american)

If C was a full blooded native american and her several generations of moms' before her also, will this show up in my results as native american matches, if there are any in the database?

Will I also see Welsh matches, if there are any in the database?

I guess what I am trying to understand is at what point does the haplogroup or haplotype thing kick in?

Could the be explained in a very simple manner?

Thanks so much
Mary

[Victor]

Hi,
I have read through the thread, but I'm still confused.
A=me
B=my mom (Welsh)
C=GreatgreatGrandma (Full native american)

If C was a full blooded native american and her several generations of moms' before her also, will this show up in my results as native american matches, if there are any in the database?

Will I also see Welsh matches, if there are any in the database?

I guess what I am trying to understand is at what point does the haplogroup or haplotype thing kick in?

Could the be explained in a very simple manner?

Thanks so much
Mary

Mary,

When talking exclusively about mtDNA haplogroups the point they "kick in" is right at the very beginning with your first female ancestor, tens of thousands of years ago.

Your mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been transmitted continuously, uninterrupted, unbroken, consecutively generation by generation until the present thru your maternal line.

To answer your question, if C was fully Native American (meaning descendant of Native Americans exclusively) then your mom's and your mtDNA should be of Native American origin, regardless of the origin of any other of your ancestors. I'm assuming that your referring to your maternal great-great-grandma.

The matches you get depend on how common or rare your haplogroup is, but they will always match only with those of a single group like yours.

Victor

[Bob Swinea]

Hi There Newbie,
Let me share what i have found with my own mtDNA results. I am American Indian. Raised that way and everything. Even have an official govt "card" that says I am. Until I had my mtDNA looked at, I too assumed that my maternal line was 100% full blood Indian as I had been told by my Elders. What showed up was that my mtDNA was haplogroup K [European]. Since our mtDNA goes all the way back in time, obviously, my maternal line had some "Europeans in the woodpile" hahaha. No disrespect intended at all
Just really interesting what one finds to look in ones mtDNA history.
Best Wishes,
Bob

[Eternitat]

And I'm the reverse of Bob.

My matrilineal great grandmother looked like the prototypical Guanche complete with light eyes and hair.

Yet I have a Native American Indian mtDNA haplogroup of A.

As an expert in the forum said, that little bit of mtDNA cannot really compare to the many nuclear DNA genes that give you the physical traits that adapt you to your specific environment.

[haplogroupc]

Mary,

I think the easiest way to explain it is to say that one of your female ancestors had a change in her DNA. Her mother had one set of DNA mutations but the daughter was born with a new mutation. That’s where the new haplogroup happened. That’s the DNA that you have today. But this change could have happened thousands of years ago because mtDNA doesn’t change often. So it doesn’t really matter what your great grandmother was in order to determine your mtDNA haplogroup. What matters is what your ancestors from thousands of years ago were. The only way to find out is to take the test. Your matches in the database would be the people who have the same exact mutations as you. They could be close relatives or they could be people who share the same ancestor from thousands of years ago. They could be any race. It all depends.