The Wake

Where do you come from? This is one of the first questions we always ask each other when introducing ourselves. But really, where do you come from? Your ancestors may have sailed over from Asia or Europe, but what about their ancestors who lived tens of thousands of years ago? From where did they travel and how did their actions result in your existence? Despite your views on human origin, the National Geographic Society, IBM, and geneticist Spencer Wells have theories and data to tickle anyone’s brain.

The Genographic Project is a five-year research endeavor that strives to connect the billions of human beings on Earth through genetic study. The main focus is human migratory history, examining DNA contributed by various groups of people from all around the globe. “Key populations,” who have been living in the same geographic area maintaining a stable population for thousands of years are at the core of the project. Inside these key populations are indigenous peoples who have had little contact with other cultures and have barely mixed their ethnicity.

It should be noted that the Genographic Project differs greatly from the Human Genome Project. While the Human Genome Project focuses mainly on identifying the different parts of a single human genome, the Genographic Project takes it one step further and analyzes the genomes of different people to map out the ethnicities of the world. More specifically, “studying the human journey—how we are all related and how we arrived at where we live today.”

Although it is acknowledged in the scientific community that humans migrated from Africa thousands of years ago, there are always more questions over which remain unanswered. How did they do it? If we all originated from one common ancestor, why is there such a variation in our appearance? Do an Asian man and a European woman really share a branch on the genetic family tree? Yes, but it’s so much deeper than that.

Nearly 200,000 years ago in Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley, there were a band of humans getting ready to move. This “Adam” and his people are widely believed to be the ancestors of the human race. According to the Genographic theory, every human on Earth has a part of their DNA that can be linked back to Adam. This group of people gradually began to leave the Omo River Valley throughout the years. By 60,000 B.C. there were people stretching to Guinea and Australia; which were linked at the time.

Yet still, why do we differ so much? Around the time “Adam” and his people were beginning to disperse, Mt. Tobo in Sumatra was the scene of a monstrous volcano eruption 3,000 times larger than St. Helens. The global temperature plummeted and brought the human population along with it. Climate changes blocked migrating groups from retreat. The sea split apart the landmass that is now Sumatra, Guinea, and Australia. These people were forced to diverge genetically, something common among small populations.

Things evolved from there.

Evidence for Adam’s journey is hidden within our DNA. DNA of every participant is broken down and the haplotype is isolated. A haplotype is the one thing that makes a person different, a “genetic footprint.” In actuality, every human’s DNA is basically made up of the exact same components. It is that small part that holds the haplotype and designates a person to a haplogroup; a genetic marker defined by mutations in the Y chromosome makeup. The haplogroup and haplotype link a person or a group back to the first appearance of a common ancestor. The relation is usually correlated with a geographic location.

Interestingly enough, the Y chromosome is where much of the valuable information is stored. When the sex of a child is defined during conception, the two X chromosomes pair up and create female. The Y chromosome is mismatched with the X chromosome and therein lays the secret. The Y chromosome has a sequence of DNA that is carried from father to son right on down the line. Through this procedure, a link can be found tracing back to Adam.

Information on the Genographic Project is boundless and will continue to develop in the years to come. The National Geographic website has an intricate break down of the project along with videos and interactive maps which allow you to “track” your origins. This non-corporate, non-governmental project is asking you where you came from. It is showing you a possible link to your next-door neighbor. You and I could very well be related, and Adam could be our father. Figuring out his journey to ourselves is half the fun.

Check out the website at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html