A really ancient connection

 

FTDNA. 

I've had a really strong connection to Los Angeles since my first visit in 2006, owning property there for eleven years, and learning about my historic LA roots with my 5th-great-grandfather Francisco Suastegui who lived there in 1835. There are many other Campuzano connections to LA, some still living in greater LA County. But the connection highlighted by FamilyTreeDNA's Ancient Connections, takes distant to a new level.

Google Maps. San Nicolas Island.

FTDNA says I share a common maternal line ancestor dating back to 12,000 BCE with 12 men from the San Nicolas Island culture who lived between 3650 and 2200 BCE. That's super distant. I do not know a lot about this culture, but with some quick Google searching, I've found some interesting articles. I'm posting this here for future viewing (pdf, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden & Cal State University; BBC from 6 Aug 2024).

It's interesting that the removal of the Nicoleño people from San Nicolas overlaps with Francisco Suastegui's time in Los Angeles.

At this stage, I'm still awaiting updates to my mtDNA haplogroup and other updates to the Mitotree.

Ancient Origins

 

MyHeritage Ancient Origins. Feb 2025.

Following the release of MyHeritage's Ethnicity Estimate v2.5 last month, MyHeritage added another new tool providing ancient origin estimates, using analysis provided by IllustrativeDNA. For a more thorough overview, see this blog from YourDNAGuide (25 Feb 2025). I've had a chance now to look at my own results, compare them with the v2.5 update, the results of other tests I manage through MyHeritage, and earlier ancient origin tools on Gedmatch. I've also given this some thought in light of my recent YDNA and mtDNA results on FamilyTreeDNA.

While the Ancient Origins data does not immediately resolve current genealogical questions, I do find it really fascinating. I also like how MyHeritage has tried to make this information engaging and approachable with the use of AI-generated videos featuring "representative" illustrations of people who might have been in the historical population groups.

MyHeritage. 

FTDNA. Discover report on A2d2.

On my ancient origin breakdown, when I set the model as Global, I am able to change the migration period from Bronze Age to Iron Age to Roman era and to the Middle Ages. The results also provide a range for "genetic fit", covering from very close to distant for how close of a match my results are to the reference populations used. The number for my result is 0.612 (very close) when the slider is set to Middle Ages. This also shows I match to 15 different populations, which is pretty wild. It's not surprising that Iberian is in my top 3, although Balkans seems really high at #2.

Moving the slider to Roman Era, the genetic fit is still very close at 0.622. Roman Britain and Pict are the top two, followed by Roman Gaul, Italy and Illyria. At the Iron Age level, the genetic fit is 1.114 (close), with Insular Celt and Continental Celt the top two, followed by Iberian, South Amerindian and Colchean (present day Caucasus region).

There's also a breakdown by Hunter-Gatherer and Farmer population type and other advanced reports on genetic similarities, genetic distance maps, and links to the reference population reports. It's a lot of data.

I think the new MyHeritage Ancient Origins data is very similar to the ancient reports available on Gedmatch, but with perhaps newer data and a fresher look with the use of the AI-generated videos and maps. Even if the data isn't 100% historically accurate, I do think this is interesting and may help raise awareness among younger and newer DNA participants. This might help attract new populations to YDNA and mtDNA testing, which will lead to family connections in more recent times.

When I look at my Mom's ancient origins report with the migration slider set to Middle Ages, the genetic fit appears as 0.802 (very close). Her top two are Iberian and Insular Celt, followed by Italian, Germanic, South and North Amerindian. These make sense. For Roman Era, the genetic fit is even closer, .0548.

MyHeritage. Roman Era report.

On my Dad's report for Middle Ages, the genetic fit is 0.905 (very close). His top two make a lot of sense as well. Iberian is a bit of a surprise, along with .08% Sami.

MyHeritage. Middle Ages for KDJ.

I think seeing this shows our family potentially had a much deeper connection to the Iberian peninsula on both sides than I previously thought possible. Overall, it's cool. Will it help me solve some of my current research questions, probably not, but again I like that it's a new feature and it may grow over time. 

Family History TV

Some new shows to add to the watch list:

National Geographic's No Taste Like Home (all six episodes now available on Disney+). These look really good and I'll probably save a few episodes for upcoming travel.

Jewish Life Television's Generations (beginning 3 March 2025).

There are also new episodes for Season 11 of Finding Your Roots. I'm finding the current season "just ok", and maybe upcoming episodes will be more engaging. *Update - Episode 8, particularly Melanie Lynskey's story, is really good. The series as a whole has given so much to family history storytelling and it's still really great that Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr is hosting the series on PBS. I hope there are more seasons.

On Netflix, there's the four part Swedish limited series titled The Breakthrough. While based on a true story, it is a dramatic crime story centered on a policeman and a genealogist who uses genetic testing to solve a double murder.

Mitotree is coming

 

FTDNA. 25 Feb 2025.

This afternoon via FamilyTreeDNA's X/Twitter account, ahead of Rootstech, FTDNA announced an update to the mtDNA of Humankind (also known as the Mitotree). Also see today's FTDNA blog. This is really cool news, and one of the reasons why I took the mtFull sequence test. My "classic" mtDNA haplogroup is A2d2, but it appears I'll be getting a new one on the Mitotree after further analysis is complete.

FTDNA.

Planning for Rootstech

Next week Rootstech returns to Salt Lake City from 6-8 March. This will be my first time in person since 2013, and I'm looking forward to seeing what may have changed, and how the conference has grown since that last visit 12 years ago.

I've downloaded the Rootstech app, and the UTA Transit app for riding the TRAX from SLC airport to the Salt Palace Convention Center. The Rootstech app shows my QR code for check in at the venue, and I can build my schedule for the sessions I want to view in person.

I still need to figure out what I might try to look up at the FamilySearch Library in the afternoon of my first day.

The Relatives at Rootstech feature is really cool, and I'm looking to see if that helps link to some DNA matches.

Back to the list of sessions, I like how the app shows where I have blocks of free time, and can add new sessions. One of talks I want to catch in person is on Friday afternoon titled the Future of Genealogy by Jarrett Ross. His session won't be available on streaming for later viewing, and I should have time to catch it before going to the airport for another flight.