# I'm 3% Neanderthal! And... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 21, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531 "2015-01-21T23:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/1 "2015-01-21T23:27:57Z")
My husband bought me a 23AndMe kit for Christmas. Today my initial results came back: my mitochondrial DNA is from the European/Near-East group (yawn), and I am 3.0% Neanderthal! This is more Neanderthal DNA than 93% of people in the 23AndMe Database, so w00t. My husband has been giggling about it all day. I’m his little cavewoman. We are getting a kit for him, next. My question is this: my ancestry is evenly divided between Germanic and Celtic. He has more Germanic ancestry than I do (and what’s left over is Celtic). Given that the Neander Valley is in Germany, is he, as a mostly-Germanic person, likely to have an equal or higher percentage of Neanderthal blood? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/2 "2015-01-21T23:37:41Z")
The time depth between “Neanderthal” and “Germanic / Celtic” is so different, they’re not really comparable. The ancestors of the Germans and the Celts, linguistically at least, were the same people for the 38,000 years following the last of the Neanderthals. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/3 "2015-01-22T05:27:54Z")
Huh. I just read that there is no Neanderthal DNA. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/4 "2015-01-22T05:43:18Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Huh. I just read that there is no Neanderthal DNA. Did you read something more than five years old? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/5 "2015-01-22T05:49:10Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Huh. I just read that there is no Neanderthal DNA. Sure we do. Humans will mate with anything 😉 [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/04/19/dna-finding-my-inner-neandertal/](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/04/19/dna-finding-my-inner-neandertal/) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/6 "2015-01-22T09:55:01Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Sure we do. Humans will mate with anything 😉 > [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/04/19/dna-finding-my-inner-neandertal/](http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/04/19/dna-finding-my-inner-neandertal/) . . . Which is why, when a character in fantasy literature (or a game of Dungeons and Dragons) is described as the race of “half elf” or “half giant” or “half pretty much anything,” nobody ever bothers asking what the other half is. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/7 "2015-01-22T10:04:00Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > . . . Which is why, when a character in fantasy literature (or a game of Dungeons and Dragons) is described as the race of “half elf” or “half giant” or “half pretty much anything,” nobody ever bothers asking what the other half is. I recall a comic I came across years ago that had a conversation between a human, and elf and a dwarf on that. > [@](#): > > Human (smirking): “Hey elf, you look like a girl.” > > Elf: “To a human, _everything_ must look like a girl.” > > Human: “What?” > > Elf: “Half-orcs, half-ogres…” > > Human: “… shut up.” > > Dwarf: “Half-dragons, half-kobolds.” > > Human: “I said shut up!” > > Elf: … > > Dwarf: … > > Human: … > > Elf: “Centaurs.” ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/8 "2015-01-22T16:03:41Z")
Hahaha ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/9 "2015-01-22T16:13:31Z")
I’ve read about this, and the idea of Neardenthal DNA is under certain dispute, with serious studies contradicting each other. Personally, I blame that stupid black monolith. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/10 "2015-01-22T17:14:18Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Given that the Neander Valley is in Germany, is he, as a mostly-Germanic person, likely to have an equal or higher percentage of Neanderthal blood? The Neander Valley is where the first fossils were found, but I don’t think it’s considered to be a place where Neanderthals were particularly common. They were found all over Europe and Asia. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/11 "2015-01-22T17:17:13Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > I’ve read about this, and the idea of Neardenthal DNA is under certain dispute, with serious studies contradicting each other. Which studies? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/12 "2015-01-22T17:21:18Z")
Just got my ancestry report back. Ladies and gentlemen, I am disappointed to report that there were no surprises in it. Apparently I come from a long line of upright, honest people who only boink who they’re supposed to, and are exactly who they say they are. Phooey. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/13 "2015-01-22T17:44:02Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Did you read something more than five years old? Maybe. And maybe I’m misremembering. But it was in Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/14 "2015-01-22T17:54:30Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Just got my ancestry report back. Ladies and gentlemen, I am disappointed to report that there were no surprises in it. Apparently I come from a long line of upright, honest people who only boink who they’re supposed to, and are exactly who they say they are. > > Phooey. I say try another DNA-analysis (or ancestry-analysis) service. I’ve heard that they don’t all agree. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/15 "2015-01-22T18:03:37Z")
What’s the health-side of the report you get like? As an adopted person, I’m quite interested in that. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/16 "2015-01-22T18:16:35Z")
23AndMe is not allowed to provide health reports, but there are plenty of third-party sites that will take your genome and give you a report. I just paid $5 to have Promethease run mine. Some interesting results there. The stuff that I am generally at high risk for is indeed stuff that runs in my family, or that I already have. I learned that I have hemochromatosis, and carry the phenylketonuria gene. The Promethease report also gives you fun stuff, like do you have the soapy-tasting cilantro gene, the asparagus pee gene, the supertaster gene. It told me my blood group, and it was wrong. Or my doctor was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/17 "2015-01-22T18:27:17Z")
I have the asparagus pee thing. I didn’t know it was genetic. I thought it happens to everyone. Hummmm, learned something new! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/18 "2015-01-22T18:36:21Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I have the asparagus pee thing. I didn’t know it was genetic. I thought it happens to everyone. Hummmm, learned something new! I also have several “big boob” genes. Figures somebody would have studied that, huh? Interestingly, there are several markers for personality traits in there. Apparently I am optimistic, have a good memory, seek novelty, have high pain tolerance, and due to a strong pleasure response I am unlikely to have problems with addiction. I am also technically blond-haired and blue-eyed. Because, apparently, all Northern Europeans have those genes, even if other genes tweak them into brown eyes and brown hair… like I have. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/19 "2015-01-22T19:11:42Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Maybe. And maybe I’m misremembering. But it was in Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. Well there’s your problem. Bryson is a fun writer, I like his stuff, but always double check anything you read from him for facts. He has a track record of making significant mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531/20 "2015-01-22T21:10:10Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > 23AndMe is not allowed to provide health reports, but there are plenty of third-party sites that will take your genome and give you a report. I just paid $5 to have Promethease run mine. Some interesting results there. The stuff that I am generally at high risk for is indeed stuff that runs in my family, or that I already have. I learned that I have hemochromatosis, and carry the phenylketonuria gene. > > The Promethease report also gives you fun stuff, like do you have the soapy-tasting cilantro gene, the asparagus pee gene, the supertaster gene. > > It told me my blood group, and it was wrong. Or my doctor was wrong. My 23andMe report came in at 2.93% Neanderthal, I always thought the high percentage was probably related to the fact that I am 100% Northern European - English/French/German with a drop of Finnish - no “drops” of any exotic blood. I’m the whitest girl you’ve ever met. And I managed to get in under the wire for the 23 and me health reports – they were very interesting but I can see why the FDA disallowed them, some of the reports they based the risk factors on were based on one or two very small studies. It was good to find out that I didn’t have any of the genes indicative of serious conditions, though [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-3-neanderthal-and/710531.md?page=2)