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And is that actually the case in the instance of modern humans and the distribution of genetic components? (Genuinely asking for someone more knowledgeable to
by ACow_Adonis 7y ago
And is that actually the case in the instance of modern humans and the distribution of genetic components? (Genuinely asking for someone more knowledgeable to chime in here).
I admit my sort of base assumption is that simple quantitative metrics such as n% African/n% Neanderthal peddled by the likes of online genetics testing labs are grossly oversimplified at best and probably borderline meaningless at worst...
- toasterlovin 7y agoSorry, I’m not sure what you’re asking. Can you restate? Regarding ancestry testing: it’s pretty valid, in general. DNA extracted from ancient human remains has completely revolutionized our understanding of recent, ancient, and extremely ancient human history. The online testing companies use the same methods and data sets. The way they present results boils a lot of different stuff down to a single number, so nuance and some fidelity is inevitably lost, but that’s always an issue when you try and make a nuanced subject understandable to laypeople. But, generally speaking, if an online test says that your DNA is 5% Neanderthal whereas someone else’s is 1%, or that you’re 20% Western European and 40% Eastern European, that is probably a valid way to present things.