Recently during a lunch conversation with my colleagues, the topic of the Genographic project propped up. This particular project aims to map historical human migration over time by collecting DNA samples from various ethnic groups spread around the world. So what's interesting about this project? Well you too can get your family's migration map! For a fee of about $100 you can get either your paternal or your maternal side's migration map.
One of my colleagues had invested quite a bit to know both his paternal and maternal side's migration map. For starters, we all are direct descendants of one human appropriately named "Adam" who lived 60,000 years ago. From then on the journey takes various other routes. His maternal side moved along the coast of Africa, crossed over to the Middle East still along the coast, moved along costal Iran and into costal South Asia until they landed in modern day Tamil Nadu. His paternal side had a longer journey, they moved from Africa, to Europe, to Russia, to Central Asia, to South Asia and finally Tamil Nadu. A sub branch in his paternal side ended up somewhere in the Amazon. Along the way both this maternal and paternal side had provided and gained genetic material from a variety of tribes. It was simply fascinating I say.
PS: If you wish to get your family's migration map, follow this
link.
