The Woman King: how does it feature in your DNA results & genealogy?

The Woman King has become a major success despite controversy. Black female empowerment and popularizing West African storylines certainly have my blessing. On the other hand it cannot be denied that Dahomey’s pro-active role in Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was obscured (although not totally ignored either). The pro-slave trade stance of the king’s wife Shante (played by actress Jayme Lawson on the left) was historically most accurate when compared with the other main characters of the movie.

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A few weeks ago I saw the Woman King and just like audiences all over the world I was blown away by the excellent cast and how beautifully the movie was shot. But most of all I love how a West African historical setting is the main focus in a Hollywood blockbuster! This movie has created a lot of attention and heated debate. Not least because of the justified critique of historical revisionism. Rest assured this blog post won’t feature yet another review in that line-up! However I will be providing an overview of resources and research findings which should be helpful to learn more about the historical and also genetic relevance of slave trade from the Bight of Benin.

The kingdom of Dahomey was located right at the center of the Bight of Benin which infamously was also known as the Slave Coast. The impact of slave trade from the Bight of Benin has been widespread across the Americas. For various groups of Atlantic Afro-descendants. But especially in terms of cultural retention there are some stand-out areas such as Brazil, Cuba, Haiti and Suriname. And genetically speaking also Barbados. Hopefully this blog post can serve as some kind of guidance for interpreting your own personal DNA results when wanting to trace back to Benin and neighbouring countries. 

Before I continue I do want to quickly clarify my own stance on the Woman King controversy.¹ When blogging about DNA test results on Ancestry and 23andme I have always warned against absolute dismissal. Because this may leave you empty-handed even when valuable insights are still to be gained! Instead from the start I have argued for a glass half-full mentality. Of course critical assessment is still required. But I firmly believe that you should always attempt to inform yourself about context, be aware of nuances and check your own bias, before passing judgement. The Woman King movie provides an excellent opportunity to do just that! In the last section of this blog post I will post many more useful links but a highly recommended starting point for more research is:

• The Woman King Syllabus (created by Professsor of History at Howard University: Ana Lucia Araujo)

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Contents of this blog post:

1. Maps
   • Historical: Dahomey kingdom, Oyo kingdom, slave ports along Bight of Benin
   • Ethno-linguistic: Benin, Yorubaland
2. Tables
   • Ethnic origins of captives from the Bight of Benin
   • Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database
3. DNA 
   • “Benin/Togo” on Ancestry is a good indicator, but also look for associated DNA matches!
   • Genetic Groups on 23andme associated with Bight of Benin lineage
   • Genealogy: Clotilda descendants and Afro-Brazilian communities in Benin/Nigeria
4. Links
   • Cultural/Genetic links with Afro-Diaspora
   • History of Dahomey 
   • Reviews of Woman King

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Four ways to find your African matches on 23andme!

In my previous blogseries I featured the latest update on 23andme intended to zoom into ethno-linguistic African lineage. Although these new ethnic group matches are very promising at this point they still very much remain a work in progress. And therefore follow-up research is still needed if you want to uncover your entire African lineage! This follow-up research can consist of several aspects. However in this blogpost I will focus on African DNA matches listed among your DNA Relatives on 23andme. 

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Figure 1 (click to enlarge)

This overview is obtained from the “Nigerian” admixture report for an African American. You can find this among your other ancestry reports on 23andme. Featuring a confirmed Igbo DNA match for him on the left. Even when he did not yet receive any ethnic group match after the latest update on 23andme.

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Figure 2 (click to enlarge)

This screenshot shows a Senegalese match reported by 23andme for a Cape Verdean person (on the left). This person did not yet receive any ethnic group match after the latest update on 23andme. However this Senegalese match serves as an alternative way to corroborate and specify African regional admixture. In this case: “Senegambian & Guinean”.

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Currently the odds of getting assigned to an African ethnic group on 23andme are still rather low. Around 20% for African Americans, according to my survey (n=100, see this overview) and about 50% for Cape Verdeans (n=50, see this overview). And even if you do get lucky than usually you will only get matched to one single ethnic group or at most 2 or 3. While realistically speaking most Atlantic Afro-descendants will have many more ethnic connections from various parts of Africa. Receiving one single African ethnic group match can of course be very valuable but it will still represent only one isolated connection with Africa out of potentially dozens or even hundreds of others.¹

In order not to get side-tracked you should therefore explore alternative ways of finding your African DNA matches yourself! And afterwards you should also conduct further follow-up research. First of all to assess if the matches you found are indeed providing a valid genealogical (IBD) connection to a plausible African lineage. And if so then you can really achieve a massive breakthrough by attempting to assign this African match to a particular familyline by triangulation and/or chromosome mapping.

In the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. Four ways to find your African matches on 23andme
   • Search your DNA relatives by African country of birth
   • Look for African DNA relatives listed in your regional admixture reports
   • Perform advanced filtering of your “100%” African DNA relatives (only on 23+)
   • Do a manual browse through of all your DNA relatives
2. Look for shared DNA matches
3. Considerations when dealing with DNA matches
4. Poll: how many African DNA matches have you found sofar on 23andme?

New Update on 23andme: Ethnic Group Matches within Africa! (part 2)

This is the second part of my blogseries which deals with the update last month on 23andme. Introducing no less than 25 ethno-linguistic groups from Africa to get matched with! In order to learn more about the ethnic origins of some of your African ancestors. In the first part of this series I already covered the question of how accurate these ethnic group matches might be. Follow link below for more details:

• New Update on 23andme: Ethnic Group Matches within Africa! (part 1)

In this post I will be focusing on what to expect. Basing myself mostly on the survey findings for 100 African Americans and 50 Cape Verdeans. But I will also post screenshots of updated results from other parts of the Afro-Diaspora.

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Figure 1 (click to enlarge)

These are the updated results of a Cape Verdean cousin of mine. It was already very useful how 23andme is able to pinpoint recent ancestry from Cape Verde. However with these new ethnic group matches also historically plausible origins from mainland Africa are confirmed for Cape Verdeans. Although to be sure there are many other ethnic groups from across Upper Guinea which also contributed to Cape Verde’s African Roots (see this website).

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Just to quickly repeat myself. Last month 23andme released its most recent update which could very well signal the start of a truly game-changing feature for zooming into ethno-linguistic African lineage¹. Of course this new feature on 23andme, based on matching strength, is not perfectly flawless. However despite a few shortcomings I am very excited about this update on 23andme! Because based on more than 50 updated results for Africans (see this overview) I am quite impressed with the accuracy of this tool. Also the results I have seen for 50 Cape Verdeans and 100 African Americans are actually in line with historical plausibility.

This update has already been fully rolled out.² But still the odds of obtaining even only one of the 25 ethno-linguistic groups are rather low for most people. Depending also on your background. It seems for African Americans there’s only about a 20% chance. For many people 23andme is simply not able to detect a sufficient level of matching strength. Which is inevitable given the limitations of 23andme’s current African reference database. Understandably this may come as a big disappointement. However don’t despair because this update is a work in progress and upcoming updates will eventually reach more people! Glass half full mentality also for 2022 😉

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Figure 2 (click to enlarge)

Take note that the updated results on the right only feature one ethnic group match. Despite this African American woman being over 80% African and regionally speaking from atleast 4 major areas in West & Central Africa. Of course this finding in itself is already incredibly valuable. However this possibly Fula and/or Wolof lineage most likely covers less than 5% of her total ancestry. While for her primary region “Nigerian” not a single ethnic group has appeared yet. In fact, although not being detected she might still also have additional Mandinka ancestors. To be grouped under “Senegambian & Guinean”. Follow-up research is still needed if you want to uncover your entire African lineage!   

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In the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. Survey findings for 100 African Americans
   • “Igbo”, “Kongo & Mbundu” and “Fula & Wolof” most frequent
2. Survey findings for 50 Cape Verdeans
   • “Fula & Wolof” and “Mandinka” most frequent
3. Updated results from other parts of the Afro-Diaspora 
   • Atlantic Afro-descendants (Brazil, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti etc.)
   • Indian Oceanic Afro-descendants (Mauritius/Réunion, Seychelles, South African Coloured, UAE)
4. Considerations
   • Recap previous disclaimers
   • Some ethnic group matches appear more frequently than others
   • Each regional admixture category potentially includes ancestors from various ethnic groups

New Update on 23andme: Ethnic Group Matches within Africa! (part 1)

Earlier this month 23andme released its most recent update which could very well signal the start of a truly game-changing feature for zooming into ethno-linguistic African lineage.¹ Going beyond the broad regional admixture categories such as “Nigerian” and “Senegambian & Guinean”. Which are already quite useful in fact. However by now providing much more granularity 23andme is really stepping up its game! For more details read this announcement by 23andme:

• 23andMe Adds New African Ethnolinguistic Groups to Ancestry Composition (23andme, 2022)

Of course this new feature on 23andme, based on matching strength, is not perfectly flawless or without its inherent limitations. And to be sure the possibility of learning more about the specifics of your African ancestry by looking for African DNA matches has been around for several years already (see this overview). However the novelty of this update lies in the robust manner in which your DNA is being compared to a wide array of 25 historically plausible populations to indicate the ethnic origins of (some) of your African ancestors. This is an ambitious endeavor which has been greatly anticipated by so many people throughout the years! Bringing to life a regional African breakdown which was often experienced as being too basic and incomplete.² Although from my assessment actually many valuable insights can also be derived from regional admixture, when interpreted correctly (see this overview).

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Figure 1 (click to enlarge)

A representative selection of updated 23andme results for Africans across the continent. I have seen more than 50 updated results from mainland Africa so far. Based on those results I am quite sure that this feature is pretty accurate. Because usually the outcomes are corresponding with the known ethnic backgrounds of African 23andme testers. As always unrealistic expectations about “100% accuracy” should be avoided. And to be sure 23andme doesn’t always “get it right”. But this update certainly can be considered as a huge step forward in pinpointing African lineage!

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Despite a few shortcomings I am very excited about this update on 23andme! Because based on more than 50 updated results for Africans I am quite impressed with the accuracy of this tool. Also the results I have seen for 50 Cape Verdeans and 100 African Americans are actually in line with historical plausibility. This blogpost series is therefore intended as a first introduction. In future blogposts I will follow-up with more details on the implications of these ethnic group matches within Africa! In fact I will also edit this blogpost itself with more information in the upcoming weeks (especially footnotes). So you might want to check that out too by revisiting this blogpost.

Right now the odds of obtaining one of the 25 ethno-linguistic groups are rather low for most people. Depending also on your background. For many people 23andme is simply not able to detect a sufficient level of matching strength. Which is inevitable given the limitations of 23andme’s African reference database.³ Understandably this may come as a big disappointment. However don’t despair because this update is a work in progress and upcoming updates will eventually reach more people!

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Table 1 (click to enlarge)

This chart shows that only 21 out of 100 of my African American survey participants received any ethnic group match (a few received more than 1). Hence the odds of receiving this update (~20%) are not that high. But still it is already a clear improvement when compared with the odds of receiving a match for an African country by way of 23andme’s Recent Ancestor Location tool. Based on a previous survey of mine this was only 3% for African Americans (see this overview).

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In the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. Disclaimers
   • Not intended to be conclusive! Ethnic identities are fluid and contextdependent.
   • Keep in mind implied timeframe.
   • Focus on complementarity of DNA matches and regional admixture
   • Educate yourself on historically plausible ethnic origins
2. How accurate is this update?
   • Updated results for 50+ Africans

In part 2 of this blogpost I will discuss my survey findings for 100 African Americans and 50 Cape Verdeans. Furthermore I will also post screenshots of updated results from other parts of the Afro-Diaspora.

• New Update on 23andme: Ethnic Group Matches within Africa! (part 2) 

Are African Americans really mostly “Nigerian”?

Last year 23andme’s research team published a major landmark study titled “Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas“. Arguably the largest DNA study to examine African ancestry in the Americas! Covering a wide span of the Afro-Diaspora, incl. also several thousands of African Americans. Highly interesting therefore. The research approach of this study consists of combining genetic data obtained from 23andme customers with Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade patterns. Which is practically the same approach I have been using ever since I started my AncestryDNA survey in 2013. This study by 23andme is even including Cape Verdean samples as a control group! Which is something I have done as well in all my research sofar.¹ Since I have recently finished my survey findings based on 23andme results (2018/2019 version) it should be useful to compare notes.

23andme’s 2020 study

• Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas (Micheletti et al., 2020)
• Supplemental Data Micheletti et al, 2020
• Table S7. Mean Ancestry Composition for the Research Cohort (main source for comparison) 

My own survey findings based on 23andme and AncestryDNA results

• Afro-Diaspora AncestryDNA results: A Comparison (Fonte Felipe, 2016)
• Update: Afro-Diasporan AncestryDNA Survey (part 1) & part 2) (Fonte Felipe, 2018)
• 23andme’s African breakdown put to the test: Afro Diaspora edition! (Fonte Felipe, 2021)

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Table 1 (click to enlarge)

This overview is showing the scaled African breakdown for the combined USA sample group (n=5785) featured in Micheletti et al. (2020). As well as for my own African American survey group (n=200). Despite smaller sample size actually very similar outcomes. Providing mutual corroboration. As can be seen “Nigerian” was clearly the most significant region. Going by group averages around 35%. Usually “Nigerian” is appearing as primary African category (162/200=81% in my survey). But even so “Nigerian” is still far from being predominant (>50%). Especially “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” is also showing up as a substantial component. Furthermore regional scores indicative of Senegambian and Central African DNA are still considerable and nearly at 10%, on average. Making for an overall varied and rather balanced African breakdown. Do notice as well that around 20% of the African breakdown is falling in one of the “Broadly” categories!

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In this blogpost I will compare my own research findings (based on regional admixture) with 23andme’s study from 2020. In fact much of the data contained in 23andme’s study (based on the 2018 version of Ancestry Composition) is consistent with my own. As demonstrated above in Table 1. Which features the African breakdown for African Americans on 23andme (scaled to 100%).² Despite smaller sample size on my part actually very similar outcomes. Providing mutual corroboration. The study’s main findings of lower Senegambian and higher Nigerian ancestry than expected for African Americans are in line with what I had already established in my 2015 survey. Based on AncestryDNA test results for 350 African Americans. As well as more recently in my 23andme survey. See also:

• 350 African American AncestryDNA results (2015)
• 200 African American 23andme results (2018/2019 version)

Within the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. Why do so many African Americans have Nigerian ancestry?
   • Ancestral implications of “Nigerian” go beyond modern-day borders
   • Domestic Slave Trade from mostly Virginia spreading Bight of Biafra lineage
   • Lower Senegambian than expected because of less reproduction?
   • Substructure according to state origins
2. African breakdown for other parts of the Afro-Diaspora 
   • Mostly in agreement with historical expectations
   • Overlap & differences with my own survey findings
   • Regional diversity and substructure
   • Confirmation of Upper Guinean Founding Effect?
3. Discordances & limitations of 23andme’s study
   • Afro-descended samples taken from migrants underrepresent wider variation in countries of origin
   • Central African IBD disproportionately high when contrasted with regional admixture from Central Africa 
   • Sex-biased admixture: multiple & context-dependent historical narratives! 
4. Exciting future prospects:  personalized 23andme results featuring African IBD specified according to ethnic groups

Gullah Genetics

I have published another new page within the 23andme section of my blog. It features my survey findings based on 100 23andme results as well as 68 AncestryDNA results for African Americans with deep roots from South Carolina. Incl. several Gullah persons! Most of my findings are in agreement with previous published studies on African American genetics. In line with expectations Rice Coast related DNA seems to be more elevated indeed among South Carolinians.¹ As indicated firstmost by a high frequency of primary “Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean” scores on 23andme. As well as prominent “Mali” scores on Ancestry. But in fact also Central African lineage and strictly Senegambian²ancestry appear to be more pronounced in South Carolina than elsewhere in the USA. To be sure Nigerian (related) ancestry is very common in South Carolina too but intriguingly it seems to be relatively subdued among Gullah persons.

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Table 1 (click to enlarge)

This overview is exploring regional substructure between various parts of South Carolina. Obviously only preliminary due to minimal sample size. However already a very insightful constrast between coastal and inland areas is surfacing. The Lowcountry and Pee Dee clearly having relatively elevated group averages for “Senegambian & Guinean” and especially “Ghanaian, Liberian and Sierra Leonean”. While “Nigerian” scores are much more prominent in Upstate and Midlands. Intriguingly the substantial Central African level showing up in coastal areas is also maintained into Midlands.

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My analysis is also zooming into coastal areas and contrasting with inland areas within South Carolina. And this kind of granularity might be a first when compared with other research projects (along with the inclusion of Southeast Asian admixture statistics). Atleast as far as I know and also when dealing with regional admixture within Africa as well (otherwise see Parra et al. (2001) for a truly pioneering study). Such a comparison is particularly insightful when wanting to grasp the localized formation of the Gullah people in the Lowcountry and adjacent Pee Dee area! In order to avoid any assumptions being made on my part I will not use Gullah as a synonym for people from the Lowcountry and/or Pee Dee.³ Although of course this is the main area where they are located. Follow the link below for fully detailed analysis, references and screenshots (incl. also AncestryDNA results):

• 100 South Carolina 23andme results

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Genetic Landscape of Gullah African Americans (Zimmerman et al., 2020)

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“Relative to southeastern non-Gullah African Americans, the Gullah exhibit higher mean African ancestry, lower European admixture, a similarly small Native American contribution” […]

“Despite a slightly higher relatedness to Sierra Leone, our data demonstrate that the Gullah are genetically related to many West African populations.” 

“This study confirms that subtle differences in African American population structure exist at finer regional levels. Such observations can help to […] guide the interpretation of genetic data used by African Americans seeking to explore ancestral identities.” (Zimmerman et al., 2020)

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• Genetic Landscape of Gullah African Americans (Zimmerman et al., 2020)

In this blogpost I will compare my own research findings with a very interesting recent study on Gullah genetics. This paper, linked above, is currently still in preprint. But it is consistent with several of my own research outcomes. Especially in regards to the quotes above. Impressively the study is based on the autosomal DNA results of 883 unrelated Gullah African Americans! A much larger sample size than I was able to use therefore.

However due to differences in methodology regrettably its potential for breakthrough insights is not fully realized. Resulting in less regionally detailed outcomes than I was able to obtain with my surveys based on 23andme and Ancestry results. To their credit the authors of the study largely succeed in sketching an appropriate historical framework for properly contextualizing their research outcomes. But at times essential details are still lacking while some of the information given appears to be outdated or not well referenced. Within the remaining part of this current blog post I will discuss the following:

1. Summary of my own survey findings based on 23andme and AncestryDNA results
2. Review of Genetic Landscape of Gullah African Americans (Zimmerman et al.; 2020)
3. African DNA matching patterns, beneficial for creating your own narrative about your personal African roots!
4. Screenshots of 23andme & Ancestry results for African Americans from South Carolina

23andme’s African breakdown put to the test: Afro Diaspora edition!

In the last couple of years 23andme has implemented several updates. Often beneficial for Tracing African Roots! Starting with the introduction of a new African regional framework in 2018. Finally providing a meaningful breakdown of West & Central African ancestry! Soon afterwards I started a survey of 23andme results among Africans as well as African Americans and other Afro-descended nationalities.¹ Similar to my previous Ancestry surveys my main research goal has always been to establish how much these results on an aggregated group level can already (despite limitations of sample size and other shortcomings) be correlated with whatever is known about the documented regional African roots for each nationality. As well as to improve correct interpretation of personal results.

Two years ago in February 2019 I published the first part of my examination of 23andme’s African breakdown. Which was based on my surveyfindings for 173 African 23andme testers from 31 countries (see this blog post). My 23andme survey has been ongoing till 23andme’s update in October 2019.² Because of other projects I have not been able to process my entire data-set earlier. But in this blog post I will at last present my main 23andme survey findings based on 889 results from 28 different countries across the Afro-Diaspora! Actually I have already analyzed these results in greater detail (incl. screenshots of individual results) on these pages:

• African American 23andme results
• Brazilian 23andme results
• Cape Verdean 23andme results
• Dominican 23andme results
• Haitian 23andme results
• Hispanic 23andme results
• Jamaican 23andme results
• Puerto Rican 23andme results
• West Indian 23andme results

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Figure 1 (click to enlarge)

A small selection of 23andme results from across the Afro-Diaspora.  Most of the outcomes are roughly corresponding with documented African roots  for each of my survey groups. Unrealistic expectations about “100% accuracy” as well as counter-productive obsessing about regional labeling should be avoided. Instead focus on what ever informational value you can obtain despite imperfections. Take notice as well how the additional Recent Ancestor Locations are on point!

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To summarize: I do indeed believe that 23andme’s African breakdown has passed the test! Although obviously there are several shortcomings to take into account. Based on both my African and Afro-Diasporan surveyfindings I find it quite impressive though that 23andme is often able to describe a person’s African origins in a meaningful regional framework. Which will usually quite closely correspond with either known genealogy or historical plausibility. The additional non-African scores and Recent Ancestral Locations actually reinforcing the robustness of 23andme’s predictions. In the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. African Breakdown
   • Main outcomes
     • Upper Guinean Founding Effect for Hispanic Americans
     • Virginia’s African roots most impactful on African American overall genepool?
     • Meaningful differentiation between Anglo-Caribbeans, Dutch Caribbeans and Garifuna
   • Frequency of primary African regions
   • Historical plausibility
2. Substructure
   • African Americans, Brazilians, Cape Verdeans, Haitians, Hispanic Americans, West Indians
3. Continental Breakdown
   • Southeast Asian admixture indicative of Madagascar connection
4. Recent Ancestor Locations:
   • Pinpointing African lineage
   • Cross-Diaspora connections
5. Screenshots 
   • Distinctive results across the Diaspora
   • Similar results across the Diaspora
   • Underrepresented parts of the Afro-Diaspora
   • Hispanic results reflecting Upper Guinean Founding Effect
   • Partially Cape Verdean results

200 African American 23andme results

I have just published a new page within the 23andme section of my blog. It features my survey findings for 200 African American 23andme results. Various themes/topics are discussed. Especially delving deeper into the African breakdown but also highlighting a remarkably widespread Madagascar Connection for my African American survey group! Follow the link below for fully detailed analysis, references and screenshots:

• 200 African American 23andme results

Of course my 23andme survey may have several limitations. The group averages I have calculated for my survey-(sub)groups are neither absolute or conclusive but rather to be seen as indicative. One main aspect to take to heart is that there will always be individual variation around the mean! Still the sample size of n=200 should be sufficiently robust to pick up on the main tendencies. I have made an extra effort to do justice to the entire African American spectrum across the country. Of course all done on a best-effort basis.

Continental breakdown

Table 1 (click to enlarge) 

Generally speaking most African Americans are clearly of predominant African descent, combined with minor other ancestral components. Almost all of this additional ancestry will usually be European in fact. Often to a minor but still substantial degree. Aside from much more diluted but still distinctive amounts of especially Native American and perhaps more surprisingly also Southeast Asian admixture! See this screenshot for an overview of my previous Ancestry survey findings (n=350). And also this one featuring the complete continental breakdown (n=200). The overall group averages being nearly identical!

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At the same time I have also focused on gathering atleast a minimum number of 20 survey participants each for Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. These are 3 key states when considering African American genetics & origins.

Table 2 (click to enlarge)

The state origins of my survey participants are not based on a 4 grandparents criterium per se. But often this was indeed confirmed by their profile details on 23andme. Either way insightful variation according to state origins. Take notice especially of the highest subgroup averages which have been highlighted in red. The African admixture ranges (min. – max.) were as follows: Louisiana (51%-94%); South Carolina (75%-99%) ; Virginia (56%-94%). Compare also with my previous survey findings on Ancestry.

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Chart 1 (click to enlarge)

This chart is showing the full extent of African ancestry among my African American survey participants. The most frequent African admixture interval is 80-90%.  Which is the same as it was during my  previous Ancestry survey (n=350, see this chart).

Update of 23andme’s African breakdown

After a long delay of any meaningful improvements 23andme has actually implemented several updates in the last two years. Often beneficial for Tracing African Roots! Starting with the introduction of a new African regional framework in 2018. In 2019 new reference samples were added for especially North Africa. While also the potentially very useful Recent Ancestor Locations feature has been greatly expanded. In this year 23andme has decided to upgrade their customized algorithm. Unlike the 2019 update this upgrade is poised to have a considerable impact on 23andme’s African breakdown. 

Not per se in a positive way though. As it seems that 23andme’s algorithm tends to be “over-smoothing”. That is to say it will tend to homogenize people’s DNA in just a few categories.¹ As always one needs to refrain from being overly dismissive in order to also capitalize on any positive aspects. From what I have seen sofar this update does seem to be an improvement for many Afro-descendants, at least on balance. Of course I would need to see more updated results for a more substantiated judgement. For more details read:

• The 23andMe Ancestry Algorithm Gets an Upgrade (Oct. 2020)

Figure 1 (click to enlarge)

General trends of changes after 23andme’s update. According to 23andme (see this link).  The decrease in “unassigned” and most of the “broadly” categories is certainly observable. And especially within the European breakdown this will often be an improvement for Hispanics and African Americans. From what I have seen sofar actually an increase of “Nigerian” is not always happening for African Americans, or only marginally so. Also “Broadly West African” does not seem to change that much. But in particular “Angolan & Congolese” might often show a considerable increase. Often it seems at the expense of “Broadly Sub-Saharan African”.

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Either way it seems that this upgrade is likely to be rolled out to everyone and not just so-called V-5 customers. That is to say regardless of when you tested 23andme is aiming to eventually update your results using their new algorithm. At the latest early next year, 2021. Initially there was some confusion on whether “old” customers of 23andme (genotyped on the v1-v4 chips) would also receive this update. However quite recently 23andme’s customer service made this clarifying statement on 23andme’s forum:

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“In October of this year, we completed testing and validating the updated algorithm for the latest genotyping platform (v5) and decided to release this update to v5 customers while continuing to work on testing and validating the updated algorithm for previous genotyping platforms (v1 through v4). These processes are independent: the set of variants tested on the v5 genotyping chip is different from the set tested on prior chips. This means that updates for customers on current and previous chips require independent research, testing, and validation. While we cannot guarantee that the new algorithm will pass quality control checks when applied to earlier genotyping platforms, we hope to provide this update to pre-v5 customers by early next year“. (source, or see also this screenshot for complete statement)

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For the sake of correct interpretation of 23andme’s African breakdown I performed a comprehensive survey among African 23andme testers from all over the continent in 2019. This survey (based on 23andme’s 2018/2019 version) was ongoing up till now. At this point my African 23andme survey includes 314 people from 36 countries! By looking into their group averages you can get a pretty good idea on how well 23andme is able to describe the African origins of people who are already aware of their specific African lineage. Because I have been able to expand my survey I can now comment in greater detail about the predictive accuracy of 23andme’s African breakdown (2018/2019 version). Beyond what I had already established in 2019.² In the remaining part of this blog post I will discuss the following:

1. African surveyfindings (2018-2019 version)
   • “Nigerian” also partially describes Ewe lineage from Ghana 
   • “Angolan & Congolese” is not always fully covering Central African DNA 
   • “Sudanese” is also being reported for Sahellian West Africans, incl. Tuareg
2. Screenshots before & after 2019 update (Africans & Afro-descendants)
3. Screenshots before & after 2020 update (Africans & Afro-descendants)

100 Jamaican AncestryDNA Results (2013-2018)

On 9 October 2015 I published my first preliminary findings based on 19 Jamaican AncestryDNA results (see this link). Right now, four years later, I have managed to collect a sample group which is five times greater! Consisting of no less than 100 AncestryDNA results of Jamaican-born or fully Jamaican descended persons.¹ Although still limited this data-set already provides a rather robust basis. Allowing for a finer detailed analysis of Jamaican genetics. In the first place with regards to the African regional roots of Jamaicans. But in addition I will also cover the Amerindian, Asian and European admixture scores being reported for Jamaicans on Ancestry. As well as variation in African admixture in general. With a special focus on substructure.

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These results were obtained during 2013-2018 but I had not fully processed all the data up till now. Although actually in 2018 I already blogged about this survey group (n=100) in my comparison of various parts of the Afro-Diaspora:

• Update: Afro-Diasporan AncestryDNA Survey (part 1) (2018)
• Update: Afro-Diasporan AncestryDNA Survey (part 2) (2018)

Please keep in mind that AncestryDNA’s ethnicity estimates have been updated several times now! In this blog post I am dealing exclusively with AncestryDNA version 2 which was current between September 2013 and September 2018. All matters being discussed are therefore not pertaining to recently updated results (2018/2019) (unless mentioned so specifically). In my opinion especially version 3 (Sept 2018 – Oct. 2019) has been a downgrade rather than providing any meaningful improvement when wanting to learn more about one’s African origins (see this blogseries). The update which is currently rolled out will be reviewed at a later time.

I will mainly revisit and expand on previous findings. Using new statistics and background information. Furthermore I will present my preliminary 23andme survey findings for 28 Jamaicans. This blog post is also intended to be a prelude for my current research into the African DNA matches being reported for Jamaicans. Which will be featured in a follow-up post to this one. Below an overview of all the topics I will cover:

1. African regional breakdown in line with expectations?
2. Variation & substructure in African admixture levels
3. European breakdown reflecting mostly British ancestry
4. Asian admixture: more or less widespread than imagined?
5. Traces of Amerindian admixture is proof of enduring Taino legacy?
6. Comparison with 23andme results being reported for Jamaicans
7. Current update of AncestryDNA’s Ethnicity Estimates 
8. Screenshots of individual results & Youtube videos

Follow these links for my complete survey data & research methodology:

• Spreadsheet with 100 Jamaican results
• Survey of AncestryDNA results

Table 1 (click to enlarge)

This table features an additional breakdown of my own making into 3 greater macro-regions: “Upper Guinea”, “Lower Guinea” and “Central Africa” (also includes Southeast Africa). I find this distinction useful because it allows certain regional patterns to show up more clearly. In particular it seems apparent that the bulk of Jamaica’s African roots are from the area in between Ghana and Nigeria (=Lower Guinea).

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Table 2 (click to enlarge)

The continental breakdown is often considered to be the most reliable within admixture analysis. Aside from reviewing the group averages it is recommendable to look into other statistical measures as well. As many people tend to have misconceptions on how “typical” their personal results might be. Compare also with my 23andme surveyfindings (n=28), see this table.

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