Ancestry DNA has a new feature called ethnicity inheritance. This feature, made possible by a technology called SideViewTM, shows your ethnicity results by parental side. According to Ancestry, the estimates are divided per regions you inherited from each parent.
As you can see from the example, each ethnicity region each parent passed on to you is separated as listed from parent 1 and 2 equaling your total estimate. Beneath the pie graph will be a legend indicating percentages and ethnicity. Siblings will be different as would parents, if they have taken a DNA test.
Since you received half of your DNA from each parent, you will only see half of each parent’s full DNA so there may be some regions not included on your estimate, but may be on a sibling’s estimate. Remember these are estimates only. Research is still important.
One thing this new feature won’t tell you is which parent is which half. Research and the family tree you are creating will likely indicate which parent’s side is which. If there is a unique ethnicity to one side of the family, for example, that is an indication of which parent you are looking at.
If your parent’s have taken a DNA test, you can compare it to yours to determine which parent. Your family tree will also help.
Don’t be surprise if each half doesn’t add up to 50 percent. The algorithm used rounds up numbers and smaller numbers may end up being less than a percent.
The feature is quite interesting and fun to compare. Since my paternal side is the only side with Italian ancestry, distinguishing parents was straightforward. Disclaimer: we are not recommending one product over another, but if you already have taken a DNA test from Ancestry, you may want to check out this new feature.
I Didn’t Expect That
If you come across something unexpected, remember that what you inherit from each parent is random. Anything further back a generation may not be 25 percent (from each grandparent) and so on. Also, the way the DNA is analyzed may indicate nearby regions as opposed to the actual region your ancestors are from.
This is not an exact science. Areas next to each other share common characteristics that may affect percentages. So you might see Spain listed when your ancestors are from Portugal because some of the characteristics of both are similar.
It is fascinating the results you learn and with an accompanying family tree, the other people out there that could be related to you! Read our previous blog post on finding ancestors.
If you have taken an Ancestry DNA test, check out the inheritance feature. For more information, go to Ancestry.com/DNA. Good luck on your research.
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