Genealogy Migration Issues
Below are genealogy and family history news stories related to migration. Click on the links for the full articles.
Ancestors of Modern Scandinavians Immigrated to Region - A new DNA study from ancient remains has thrown into question the origin of modern Scandinavians. The study just published in the journal Current Biology suggests that modern Scandinavians do not come from ancient hunter-gatherers who inhabited the region more than 4,000 years ago. Until now, it had always been believed that modern Scandinavians were the direct descendants of people who had always lived in the region...[More]
Africa Has the Highest Genetic Diversity - Genetic genealogy testing has become a popular tool for people wanting to map their ancestry. It can be particularly useful for people who want to trace their ancestry in a part of the world that lacks official government records. However, the most comprehensive genetic study of Africa suggests that there are practical limits for African Americans trying to trace their roots using genetic genealogy tests...[More]
Native Americans Have a Common Ancestry - New genetic data suggests that Native Americans from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska across to Greenland and down to the southern tip of Chile all share a common ancestry...[More]
First European Explorers to America May Have Included Africans - History books suggest the first Africans arrived in the Americas with the slave trade, which began soon after the Virginia Colony was founded in 1607. However, a new study suggests the first Africans may have arrived in the New World over one hundred years earlier than previously thought...[More]
Why Immigrants Change Their Name - A common problem in genealogy is tracing people who have changed their name. This occurs most often when someone immigrates to another country...[More]
The Changing Face of Immigration in America - Genealogists in the US might be interested in a study just released by the US Census Bureau detailing the characteristics of recent immigrants to America. Given that the United States is a country of immigrants, it is interesting to note how much the pattern of immigration has changed over the last two hundred years...[More]
West African Pygmies Share a Common Ancestry - Short people known as pygmies are scattered across the forest regions of central Africa. These hunter-gatherers of the forest belong to different ethnic groups, speak different languages and exhibit a great deal of cultural and physical diversity. However, given their shared short stature, researchers have often wondered whether they have a common ancestry...[More]
Search for Viking Ancestry in England - From the late eighth century to the early eleventh century, Viking explorers, warriors and merchants actively raided and colonized much of northern Europe, including parts of the United Kingdom...[More]
Migration across South Pacific Started from Taiwan - Scientists have come up with a new theory on how people originally populated the South Pacific, the region roughly defined from Taiwan to New Zealand to Hawaii...[More]
First Native Americans Arrived in Two Separate Migrations - An international group of genetic researchers from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City, Utah working with scientists from the University of Pavia in Italy have released a study that questions the traditional view of how the Americas were originally populated...[More]
Gene Study Questions Spain’s Ancestry - There have always been two views of Spanish history: one that says Spain is a Catholic civilization that has been influenced by Jewish and Muslim cultures; another that says Spain is a melting pot of Catholic, Jewish and Muslim cultures...[more]
Did the Vikings Settle Scotland and Ireland? - English history is ripe with tales of Viking marauders raiding and plundering the English countryside...[more]
Even at the Olympics, It is Hard to Tell Someone’s Nationality - There seems to be a new sport at the Olympics that any genealogist would readily appreciate...[more]
History of Neanderthals Revealed with DNA Sequence - The first complete genome of a Neanderthal has been sequenced from a 38,000 year old Neanderthal bone...[more]
Minorities to Become the Majority in a Generation - A generation is not a long period of time from a genealogist’s point of view...[more]
US Government Detects Immigration Fraud with DNA Testing - Governments have long used medical tests on immigrants to screen out potentially unwanted applicants...[more]
US Immigration Service Considers Genealogy Program - The United States is a country that was built by immigrants...[more]