Sunday, 24 February 2013

Ancestors

Genealogy is a big interest of mine, but I've got to a point with it where patience is a virtue - more records have to be published (or possibly discovered) before I can get any further. So, it's rather "on hold" for now, for the most part.

Quite by chance yesterday I stumbled across a TV show on You Tube yesterday, where Eddie Izzard is sent to revisit his DEEP ancestry, via DNA samples, right back to Namibia, where all European ancestry comes from, with a common ancestor 200,000 years ago.

You can watch the first episode in its entirety on You Tube.


It includes a factoid that I hadn't come across before, that all people with blue eyes originate from a common ancestor in a known place and time: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-511473/All-blue-eyed-people-traced-ancestor-lived-10-000-years-ago-near-Black-Sea.html

OK, it's not quite like knowing your ancestors names, jobs, etc, but I am tickled pink to know where my blue eyes came from. 

Being of English birth, I am well aware of being a mutt, I even know some of my own mutt strains from genealogical data. But I'd still love to do the DNA thing, in fact I've looked into it, and as it gets more popular, the price is gradually coming down. Once it falls within my budget, I'll be sending my spit off for analysis. 

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7 comments:

  1. Kathy Custren24 February 2013 at 06:28

    Very interesting subject, genetics, and I am intrigued by Eddie Izzard's quest of a show to travel to the many places where markers were noted in his history.

    Part of what makes this sort of a study great is that it opens up the doorways and pathways of our shared human experience. We tend to hold to such limited timeframes of reference. Did it impress anyone that the 'first woman' goes back so far? History books cannot compare in capturing the stories of that ancient time (many, in fact, have discounted it), yet our own inner workings hold the road map of time travel.

    As they said at the beginning of the video, it's like magic. I stopped watching the episode to write this, and will return to it and also seek out more 'adventures' with the Izzards. Guess we're ALL cousins, huh? ;) ~ Blessings!

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    1. Melanie Boxall24 February 2013 at 07:05

      Couldn't find Episode 2 last night, but I have now:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqnGRZCpyQ

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    2. Kathy Custren25 February 2013 at 04:05

      Both shows were great to watch. Nice getting to see Eddie's dad as well as all of his other 'cousins.' ;) Thanks for sharing the links ~ Blessings!

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  2. Nyghthawk24 February 2013 at 07:01

    It is very interesting! I knew about the blue eyes...posted something about it on FB about a year ago, too. lol

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  3. Sailorchronos25 February 2013 at 11:10

    Thanks, I shall have to watch these when I get the chance.

    Genealogy is like trying to complete a big puzzle where large sections happen to be the same colour and it's not clear where the pieces fit. My research has also come to a standstill in some places, because the records just aren't available for easy access. Many records are transcribed and put online by volunteers and might not be entirely legible or accurate.

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