Y-chromosome test

The Y-chromosome test yielded more results. Not only did we find out my greatest grandfather (the Nissen ancestor) descended from ancient Scandinavians, we can also compare more easily Dad's DNA results to that of others. We found some cousins within nine generations.

Here are the results:

Meet Your People

Read on for the story of your most ancient ancestors.

Ancient ancestry:

The Stonemasons

Haplogroup:

I1

Note: Under the latest nomenclature change by the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, haplogroup I1a is now I1. For more info click here.

You belong to the Stonemasons, haplogroup I, which is about 30,000 years old. The Stonemasons are best known for crafting pointed stone blades, known as Gravette Points, to hunt bison, horse, reindeer and mammoths.

Stone played both a functional and religious role for the Stonemasons, who crafted voluptuous Venus figurines, possibly out of steatite, calcite, limestone or other soft stone. Although the exact significance of the figurines is not known, they may represent fertility or the Earth Mother goddess, a concept which prevails in many cultural mythologies. The Stonemasons could have regarded the Earth Mother as a symbol of security or as a deity who enabled plentiful harvests and numerous offspring. The Ice Age probably shaped the story of the Stonemasons. An ice shelf formed during the final stages of the Ice Age moved as far as southern Ireland, mid England and northern Germany, covering all of Scandinavia, where the Stonemasons lived. Northern Spain and continental Europe were covered in tundra during these climatic shifts. As the Stonemasons moved their homes south to hunt game below the tree line, they settled primarily in the Balkans, southern France, Iberia (present day Spain and Portugal) and Italy. As they migrated, The Stonemasons played a possible role in developing the distinct difference in the languages of eastern and western Europe. When the Ice Age ended, many of the Stonemasons returned to their northern homes and repopulated Scandinavia, Iceland and northwest Europe. Based on your DNA test, we're able to predict that you belong to a subgroup of the Stonemasons, haplogroup I1. This group may have participated in a coastal migration route about 10,000 years ago, during a time period archaeologists call the Holocene epoch. The I1 Stonemasons primarily occupied Norway, Sweden and Denmark, as well as parts of Finland settled by the Laplanders.

Based on what we know about those regions and their traditions, it's possible that your ancient ancestors worshipped the god Woden, also known as Odin. When Christianity replaced paganism, Woden was retained in the culture's folklore as a historical king. Tales about Woden describe him as leading a wild hunt in the sky with a group of spectral horsemen. In a practical sense, this myth may have been used to explain thunderstorms. Woden is also reflected in modern languages-"Wednesday" is named after the god.