Who knew I'd be so ethnic? Where my roots led me (What box to check?)

The idea of taking a DNA test first came to me in August, after I read a Time magazine article entitled "Diving into the Gene Pool." The author, Carolina A. Miranda describes herself as an "olive-skinned Latina," but a DNA analysis test uncovered connections to places likesuch as Poland and Mozambique. Intrigued, I decided to order my own analysis kit from DNA Tribes, a company that promised to trace my ancestry back to ancient times.

I didn't expect my experience to be anything like Miranda's. For starters, I was fairly certain of my ethnic heritage: Irish on my mother's side, German and Polish on my father's. This genetic profile was evident both in my family's cultural heritage and my appearance: I have the fair skin and blond hair that is typical of Northern Europeans. I assumed that my DNA analysis would show strong links to Northern Europe, with perhaps a smattering of other European blood on some distant branch of the family tree. But like Miranda, I was in for a surprise.

The first part of the test identified "deep ancestral roots," listing the top 20 places in the world that my ancestors likely came from. I was shocked to see that my strongest genetic roots were in Spain, followed closely by the Himalayan region of India. Other top matches included Turkey, Norway, Romania and Saudi Arabia — places I'd never dreamed of identifying with. And I apparently should not waste time searching for long-lost relatives at Oktoberfest parties this year: Germany graced the bottom of the list, barely beating Northern Italy as a contributor to my genetic profile.

The second part of the test listed 20 places in the modern world where my genetic relatives are likely to be found today. Because of our shared Spanish origins, I have strong ties to the people of present-day Mexico, Costa Rica and Argentina. And while the test suggested that many of my relatives — such as the Swiss and Norwegians — look like me, others bear no resemblance. Outside of the Hispanic world, my closest relatives can be found in northeast India.

My family was just as baffled as I was by the results. There are plenty of possibilities: For example, my mother's ancestors might have been "Black Celts," or Irish citizens of Spanish descent. But there are few clear answers. Without extensive genealogical research or possibly a time machine, most of my genetic connections will remain mysteries.

Although the DNA test couldn't explain how people from across the world came together to create me, a white Christian girl living in the American Midwest, it did prove many of my assumptions false. I took the test thinking that my ancestors farmed potatoes in Ireland and fought in Charlemagne's noble army, and some of them did. But others bowed to Mecca and weathered harsh winters in the Himalayan foothills. Without a DNA test, I never would have known it.

I'm not alone in my ignorance. Geneticists claim that many Americans' genetic profiles are as diverse as mine, and few precisely reflect the cultural identities we embrace.

First, what do terms likesuch as "race" and "ethnicity" really mean? Do they describe a person's actual genetic makeup, or do they relate more to social affiliations with a particular group? Since I have genetic links to several populations that are considered nonwhite, should I start checking the "multiracial" box on government surveys and job applications? These questions are difficult ones, and every answer is highly debatable.

In any case, DNA tests have proved one thing: People of different ethnic identities often have more in common than they think.

Discovering your true ancestral origins can be confusing and even painful. But it can also be the first step toward greater appreciation for people around the globe.

Herzog is a journalism student at Ohio University in Athens and a graduate of The Woodlands High School.

Well, I was talking about something like that. But more of the lines from this story...

FROM YOUR LINK

"The Irish and Scots may be as closely related to the people of Spain and Portugal as the Celts of central Europe, it emerged today.

Historians have long believed the British Isles were swamped by a massive invasion of Iron Age Celts from central Europe around 500BC.

But geneticists at Dublin’s Trinity College now claim the Irish and Scots have as much, if not more, in common with the people of north-western Spain.

Dr Daniel Bradley, genetics lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, said a new study into Celtic origins revealed close affinities with the people of Galicia."

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Yep. That is exactly as would be expected.

The geneticists seem surprised because they are a little weak on their ancient Celtic history.

There is an atlas called "The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History" that geographically traces the pre-Roman European migrations by shadings on the European map.

The Celtic migrations are shown as follows:

The Celts originated in Central Europe and then spread out from there in all directions. The first wave of Celtic migration reached northern Spain and the British Isles and extended into Ireland.

The first Celtic wave into Spain ran continuously along the northern half of Spain but pressure from the original Iberian inhabitants resulted in an Iberian reconquest of what is now the Basque region cutting of the Celts of Galicia and Asturias (in the northwest corner of Spain) from Gaul.

The Cantabrian mountains separate Galicia and Asturias from the rest of Spain to the south (and also give the area a very wet and green climate just like the Cascade Mountains in Washington State make the western Washington green and wet and eastern Washington dry). As a result, the Celts of Galicia and Asturias had good defenses against invaders and stayed relatively "pure". They did not fall to the Roman conquest until the time of Augustus even though the rest of Spain had fallen to the Romans 200 years before. During the Moorish invasion of Spain, they held out as the last unconquered Christian areas and began the Reconquista.

Back in Central Europe, new waves of migration had come including later waves of Celts that were somewhat different from the original wave. Therefore, the original Celtic stock was severely diluted or wiped out in Central Europe.

So, by the time of Augustus, that first Celtic wave only survived in relatively pure form hunkered down behind the Cantabrian Mountains in Galicia and Asturias in Spain and hunkered down on the island of Ireland and hunkered down in Scotland while the rest of Central Europe and even the island of Britannia south of Scotland were overrun by newcomers.

So, Ireland and Scotland and Galicia and Asturias do not simply share Celtic roots. They share the Celtic roots of the SAME WAVE of Celtic migration across northwestern Europe.

Due to the natural defenses in these areas at the fringes of the Europe (and through the sheer stubbornness and orneriness that the Irish, the Scots and we of Galician stock seem to share) they were able to keep the newcomers at arms length and retain their unique genetic makeup.

The confusion of the Trinity College geneticists would be analogous to a geneticist that is confused as to why the Seminoles in Florida have such a close genetic connection with Indians in Oklahoma. (The Seminoles were originally from stock originating in Georgia and the Carolinas but, through wars and migrations, they were wiped out of their original territory and ended up in relatively pure genetic form only in Southern Florida where they had fled to in the early 1800's and where the Seminoles who never surrendered remained and in Oklahoma wehere the Seminoles who surrendered were relocated to by the U.S. Government.) You would expect the South Florida Seminole have more genetic links to people now living in Oklahoman than to people now living in the land of his ancestors in Georgia.

Since the first Celts in Central Europe and France and England were long ago overrun by other waves of migration, the genetic stock of the original first wave of Celtic migration will be found in the fringes of northwest Europe where these Celts made their stand against invaders aided by the natural defenses of the sea, the Scottish highlands and the mountains of Galicia and Asturias.

Likewise, in the American Melting Pot, the Scots-Irish have kept themselves relatively unmixed in the mountains of Appalachia.

In regards to Portugal: Portugal is also separated from the rest of Iberia by a mountain range, this one in a north-south orientation. It is also directly south of Galicia.

During the Reconquista, the region that is now Portugal was reconquered from the Moors by the Christians from Galicia and, again, the mountains and the sea provided genetic isolation. The Portuguese language is derived from the Galician mother-tongue.

"I have my doubts about this. Sounds like someone promising to hypnotize you and tell you all your past lives."

'The Search for Bridey Murphy,' Anyone? ;)

"Bridey Murphy is the name of a woman that U.S. housewife Virginia Tighe (April 27, 1923 - July 12, 1995) claimed to have been in her previous life.

In 1952, amateur hypnotist Morey Bernstein hypnotized Virginia Tighe in Pueblo, Colorado. He 'regressed' her to her alleged past life as a 19th-century Irishwoman, Bridey Murphy, who had allegedly lived about 1798 – 1864. Tighe claimed to have never been in Ireland but gave vivid accounts of Irish rural life and sang Irish songs. Unfortunately, Bernstein and Tighe listened to the recorded sessions during the series, so that 'Bridey Murphy' was able to amend details as the sessions unfolded.

Bernstein published the book The Search for Bridey Murphy in 1956; in it he called Tighe 'Ruth Simmons.' The book and recordings made of the hypnosis sessions became very popular and were turned into an unsuccessful 1956 movie. The phenomenon spawned a rash of comparable reincarnations.

U.S. journalists made inquiries in Ireland and found no evidence of a Bridey Murphy. However, journalists working for the Chicago American found a Bridey Murphey Corkell, who had lived across the street from Tighe's childhood home in Wisconsin. They concluded that Tighe's 'memories' as Bridey Murphy were based on Corkell's tales of her childhood experiences.

It was later revealed that Tighe had been coached on details of 19th-century County Cork, Ireland."

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