Hmmmm....

These are the results of my Ancestry.com genetic testing:

No surprises, except for the 26% Scandinavian DNA. I had thought it was a good bit less than that.

No mention of Neanderthal. No mention of Denisovans. There was a lot of information in the e-mailed results about the areas of the world listed, and I learned that through the centuries, through the millennia, countries' borders and names changed so that to say that someone is from Norway, for example, doesn't really mean anything. They are from that geographical area, but who knows what country, if any, it might have been so long ago that there is no written history.

However, my daughter used a kit from 23andMe and her results in terms of countries do not list Scandinavia at all, which can't be possible. I was there when she was born so I do know that she is my daughter.  But her test does say that she has 2.7% Neanderthal genetic material, as does the average 23andMe user.  

None of us has any of the Neanderthal characteristics listed and since the average user of this test has the same 2.7% genetic material, I think that perhaps the test isn't all that accurate. And I doubt that Ancestry.com's test is particularly useful except for people who have no idea where their ancestors came from.  

Anyway, it was fun, sort of, to see the results, even though I don't really think either my daughter or I learned anything all that surprising.  

Anyone tempted to try the testing should be forewarned that the tests do not require just a cheek swab; they require spit, lots and lots of spit, and it's kind of gross.