About Southern European Ethnicity

Modern Day Location

Italy, Spain, Portugal

Did You Know?

One of the most common Italian surnames is Russo.

About Your Region

If you had to choose one region of Europe that has wielded the most influence over the course of western history, a strong candidate would be the land of your ancestors—an area that includes modern day Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

In ancient Italy, the Romans and their empire set the stage for modern European culture. After adopting Christianity in the 4th century, the Romans spread (along with their Latin language) to all corners of their realm. Centuries later, Italy again stepped to the forefront, leading the way out of the Middle Ages as brilliant artists and philosophers like Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Michelangelo ushered in the Renaissance.

Spain and Portugal experienced periods of great strength and influence during the Age of Discovery. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II of Spain funded the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492, initiating an era of global colonization and great wealth and influence. Today, as a result, Spanish is the second most spoken language on Earth. Portugal kept pace with its neighbor, establishing its own colonies around the world, most notably Brazil.

In the modern era, all three counties saw tumultuous transitions from monarchies to authoritarian dictatorships to modern republics. While their modern day borders may be much smaller than in the days of their powerful empires, their legacy still reaches around the globe.

Migrations into this region

Southern Europe shares a substantial amount of genetic affinity with North Africa. This is mostly because the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish (Berber) invaders, from present-day Morocco, in about 711 C.E. Their legacy can still be seen in Spain and Portugal, ranging up to 15% in some individuals.

Migrations from this region

During the Last Glacial Period, beginning about 21,000 years ago, glaciers and windswept tundra made much of northern and central Europe uninhabitable. Populations retreated into the southern glacial refugia of Spain and Italy. Then as the climate warmed, these Mesolithic people expanded out of southern Europe to occupy the entire continent, as far north as present-day Finland. The south-to-north pattern of genetic differences in Europe is attributed to this post-glacial expansion. Additionally, Iberia was the historic source of migration into the Americas. Populations throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, southern USA and South America can trace their lineages back to Spain and Portugal, usually through their paternal side.

Modern Day Location

United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America

Did You Know?

Corn was a staple of the Aztec, Mayan and Olmec civilizations after being initially domesticated in southern Mexico.

About Your Region

Your genetic ethnicity indicates that you have ancestry from North America, a vast stretch of land that includes the rugged territory of Alaska and Canada, the mountains and plains of the United States, the dry valleys of Mexico, and the tropical jungles of Central America.

North and South America were the last continents in the world to be populated by humans. 20,000 years ago, thanks to low sea levels, the indigenous Americans were able to cross a land bridge from northern Asia into what is now Alaska and Canada via the Bering Strait.

Much of the native population were nomadic hunter-gatherers, but a number of more advanced cultures developed as well. The Mississippian culture, which was centered in the region named for them, farmed maize and had a complex, stratified society. The Aztecs and Mayans of Central America were highly advanced, having developed writing, astronomy, art, mathematics, and highly developed religious institutions that built enormous stone pyramids and practiced ritual human sacrifice.

The first contact with Europeans was likely when Leif Erickson and his Icelandic Vikings established a temporary settlement in Canada. But it wasn't until the arrival of Columbus 500 years later that European colonists began exploring and settling the region in earnest. Early Spanish explorers like Cortes, Ponce de Leon, and de Soto brought with them things the indigenous population had never seen before, like horses, guns, and smallpox. With no natural immunity to European diseases and no way to compete with the superior firepower of the invaders, many Native Americans were pressured out of their ancestral lands.

Many tribes were relocated great distances by the United States government to land that had been set aside for them. There are still many Native American groups throughout North America that retain their indigenous language and traditions, particularly in northern Canada and in Mexico. A few, like the Pima, who live along the Gila and Salt Rivers in modern-day Arizona, were able to keep at least some parts of their traditional territory.

Migrations into this region

North America was initially occupied about 15,000 years ago from people living in Siberia and coastal north Asia. A small number of travelers crossed the Bering Land Bridge probably far fewer than 1,000 individuals, likely tracking animal herds, and discovered an expansive new territory. Most Native Americans appear to derive from this initial wave of migration. These groups were dramatically successful and in only a few thousand years occupied virtually the entire landmass. At least one additional migration from northern Asia occurred about 5,000 years ago, although this was largely limited to northern Canada and Greenland—sometimes known as the "Paleo-Eskimo" culture.

Migrations from this region

The primary migration from North America involving Native Americans was the settlement of South America. Mounting evidence suggests that there was a rapid dispersal along the western coast of the Americas, perhaps by sea, over only 1,000 years. Not long after humans first appeared in Alaska and the western US, they had already settled as far south as the tip of Chile.

About Native South American Ethnicity

Modern Day Location

Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Columbia, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad, Tobago

Did You Know?

Venezuela has one of the highest waterfalls in the world, called Santo del Angel (Angel Falls).

About Your Region

You have ancestry from Native South America, an impressive and diverse stretch of land that includes the towering Andes mountain range, the lush Amazon rainforests, the arid Atacama Desert and the vibrant beaches of Brazil.

North and South America were the last continents in the world to be populated by humans. 20,000 years ago, thanks to low sea levels, the indigenous Americans were able to cross a land bridge from northern Asia via the Bering Strait and eventually make their way down the continent by land and boat.

South America was historically home to Amazonian hunter-gatherers, pastoralists living off vicuna and alpaca herds and dense urban areas sustained by agriculture. The largest and most powerful civilization of this pre-Columbia era was the Inca Empire, which controlled millions of people at its height, requiring military service and labor from it citizens. Mythical tales of lost Inca gold created a greater mystique about this civilization to this day.

The Spanish and Portuguese monarchs initiated expeditions into this region beginning in the 15th century. Infamous Portuguese explorers like Cabral, and Spanish conquistadors like Francisco Pizarro gradually conquered the native population, capturing the Emporer of the Incan Empire, and eventually taking control over the great Andes region. The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the continent between Spain and Portugal with Brazil under Portuguese rule.

In the 19th century, visionaries, and influential political leaders such as Simón Bolívar, played a key role in breaking free from the Spanish Empire and continued to lead Spanish-America nations—Bolivia, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador—to independence.

Substantial regions of South America, such as the highlands along the western coast (like in Peru and Bolivia), are elevated thousands of feet above sea level. Continuous settlement of these high altitude regions above 7,500 feet by humans necessitated biological adaptations to prevent hypoxia due to low oxygen levels.

Migrations into this region

The Americas were initially occupied about 15,000 years ago from people living in Siberia and coastal north Asia. A small number of travelers crossed the Bering Land Bridge probably far fewer than 1,000 individuals, likely tracking animal herds, and discovered an expansive new territory. Most Native Americans appear to derive from this initial wave of migration. These groups were dramatically successful and in only a few thousand years occupied virtually the entire landmass. Mounting evidence suggests that there was a rapid dispersal along the western coast of the Americas, perhaps by boat, over only 1,000 years. Not long after humans first appeared in Alaska and the western U.S., they had already settled as far south as the tip of Chile.

Migrations from this region

About Central Asian Ethnicity

Modern Day Location

Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan

Did You Know?

The domesticated Bactrian camel (with 2 humps rather than 1) is native to the Central Asian steppes.

About Your Region

Your genetic ethnicity results indicate that your ancestors came from Central Asia, which lies between continents, where eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Indian subcontinent converge. The region is sometimes referred to as "the Stans," as all of the nations comprising it end in "-stan," a Persian term which means "place of." Dry, desert basins cover most of the southern part of the region, stretching from the Caspian Sea across Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and southern Afghanistan, whose eastern border suddenly soars into the Hindu Kush. This mountainous terrain dominates the countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan before giving way to the northern steppe of Kazakhstan.

It was this vast Eurasian steppe, stretching from Eastern Europe to mainland China that served as the overland trade route between east and west, the famous Silk Road traversing the expanse of plains and deserts. Powerful nomadic tribes inhabited the steppe and swept west on horseback in periodic waves throughout history, conquering and dispersing populations in their wake. The Huns, Göktürks, and Kublai Khan's Mongols all dominated the region at various times, and Turkic tribes such as the Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, and Turkmen migrated to the region from Central Asia, Mongolia, and Siberia over the course of centuries, eventually adopting Islam after becoming subjects of the Muslim Caliphates in the 7th century.

The southern nations, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, while also overwhelmingly Muslim, are much more closely related to neighboring Iran in both language and ethnicity than the predominantly Turkic north. The Pashtun, or Afghan people of Afghanistan, although their origins are unclear, are one of the most ancient inhabitants of the region and their language, Pashto, traces its roots to a common ancestor of modern Persian. The Tajiks, who comprise a sizable minority of Afghanistan in addition to their majority status in Tajikistan, are historically and linguistically more closely related to modern Iranians, due to the expansion and influence of the Persian Empire. The Hazara of Afghanistan owe much of their identity to the Mongol invaders of the 13th century. Although most today speak Persian, a dwindling few still speak Mogholi, descended from Mongolian.

Migrations into this region

After the development of agriculture in the Middle East, farmers and herders spread into Cabout 6,000 years ago. They were joined at a later time by the Persian and Greeks who navigated trade routes to China. From the opposite direction, Turkic nomads from northern Asia spread into Central Asia over a span of 1,500 years. The Mongol invasion by Genghis Khan in the 13th century was a product of this nomadic culture and the Mongol warriors conquered and then intermixed with local groups. At this point Central Asia became an important locus of imperial expansion into neighboring regions. About 400 years ago, the Russian empire expanded from eastern Europe into Central Asia and remained largely in control of the region until the 20th century.

Migrations from this region

Populations from central Asia expanded into the fringes of east Asia. In fact, the 4,000 year-old Tarim mummies with their red hair and European clothes are thought to have come across from the Eurasian steppes.

About Persian/Turkish/Caucasus Ethnicity

Modern Day Location

Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan

Did you know?

Mount Elbrus, a peak in the Caucasus Mountains, stands 18,000 feet tall and is also the highest mountain in Europe.

About Your Region

Your genetic ethnicity indicates ancestry in the Caucasus region. It extends from the Anatolian Peninsula and the nation of Turkey, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, along the Caucasus Mountains, which form its northern boundary against Southwestern Russia. Here the nations of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are nestled in the highlands between the Black and Caspian Seas. Turning southeast, it encompasses Iran, all the way to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.

It has been the homeland of some of the world's most famous civilizations and empires. Cyrus the Great expanded his territories from his home in Iran to create the powerful Persian Empire, the largest in the world to that point. Known for his religious and cultural tolerance, he freed the Jews from slavery to the Babylonians. His descendants, Darius and Xerxes, famously battled the Greeks at Thermopylae, Salamis, and Marathon during the Greco-Persian wars.

Turkey, in particular, has historically been at the crossroads of Eastern and Western cultures, beginning with the famous Trojan war as told by Homer, when Mycenaean Greeks laid siege to the ancient Lydian city of Troy, which was most likely part of the Hittite Empire. The Roman Empire, ruling from Constantinople, spread Christianity and Greco-Roman culture throughout Anatolia. The arrival of the Turkic peoples from central Asia brought with them the Turkish language and Islam. Their eventual conquest of the Byzantine Empire and its territories in the "Holy Lands" of the Levant were the catalyst of the first Crusades.

Much of the Caucasus region is Muslim, with Shia Islam being the official state religion of Iran, while the Sunni branch is more predominant in the Caucasus groups of the north, such as the Nogay (also Norgai), Adyghe, and Chechens. Modern day Turkey is a secular nation, but the vast majority of the population is Muslim, including the Kurds of the southeast. Georgia and Armenia have a long history of Christianity, being two of the earliest nations to adopt it. Along with Azerbaijan, they were once part of the Soviet Union, and since its dissolution, border disputes have continued to create a tense atmosphere.

Migrations into this region

About 45,000 years ago, the modern humans first occupied the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding region from a source in the Middle East and continued to serve as a region for migrations throughout history. This was particularly evident during the Neolithic period when farming spread to the Caucasus Mountains and later when Jewish populations also moved north into the region. Additional evidence suggests that 800 years ago, Mongols also invaded the Caucasus area leaving descendants in populations like the Nogay, who carry the 'Genghis Khan' genetic signature.

Migrations from this region

Despite their intermediate position between Eastern Europe and the Middle East, Caucasian populations seem to have rarely been a thoroughfare for migration. Although the Caucasus Mountains have long been a proposed route for the early agriculturalists to settle to Eastern Europe 8,000 years ago, current genetic data indicate Caucasians and Eastern Europeans have remained relatively isolated.