Anarchistbanjo's World

I’m feeling a bit stupid right now. I’ve been diving into my genetic history and learning about it makes my head spin as some of it seems counter intuitive at best. For example, the further you go back in time the closer to the origins right? Not necessarily! For example haplogroup G which I belong to developed out of haplogroup F which originated in the Balkans and Aegea basin. So they say it spread out to the Caucasus where haplogroup G originated, or did it? What is more like the truth is that my ancestors emerged somewhere along that line between the Balkans and Aegean basin and the Caucasus mountains. My personal ancestors may have never come near the Caucasus mountains! Its like there is this big hay stack and my ancestors may have come from any of those points!

So we narrow things down a bit genetically and I find myself part of haplogroup G-M406 which did appear to originate around the Balkans and Aegean basin. There were migrations that spread out from the Balkans and Aegean into Turkey, Greece, Italy, Germany, France and into Britain. My ancestors might never have left the area!

As we continue to narrow things down genetically I find myself part of haplogroup G-PF3296 which seems to center around Italy with members that extended throughout what became the Roman Empire. That doesn’t mean my own ancestors extended that far from home! This is part of why I was getting so confused. My ancestors or relatives were probably Roman legionaries in the Roman Empire.

Then streak of luck! Genetically narrowing things down even further I find myself part of haplogroup G-PF3316 and there was one ancient match at a grave site in Rome dating around 300 CE. I also had a modern match from a person that lived in Italy. While I’m waiting to know and understand more this seems to say that both this modern match and I have a common ancestor that lived in Rome around 300 CE!

I decided to do further genetic testing and am waiting on my Big Y results which might be several weeks. But my focus has definitely shifted away from the Caucasus mountains to Italy and 4th century Rome. This of course being the end of the Roman Empire. My family roots appear to be Roman at this point.