Sproul DNA
What is our DNA history and what can it tell us today?
Sproul DNA has inherited the DNA of ancestors of the ancient Germanic tribes c. 3100 BC and our Y-chromosome lineage seems to be unique in that we all appear to be related! All Sprouls of every known variant that has been Y-chromosome tested positive for the R1b-U106 haplogroup share the same genetic ancestry. This was the theory, and the basis of a short but interesting study by Philip Sprowl from Indiana some years back. Philip's analysis satisfied his theory enough that he felt comfortable concluding that all Sprouls are the descendants of one man, Walter Spreull, Senescallus de Dumbartown.In this post we are going to break down the major points of mutations, or branching off over the history of our DNA. This is a very brief historical summary of what makes our DNA Sproul DNA. For those wanting a more in-depth analysis of what this all means I have provided hyperlinks for further study. Below are the major mutations throughout our DNA history to where we are today.
R1b (R-M343)
 |
| wikipedia.org |
This is the first of the R-Haplogroup that we will begin exploring. R-M343 occurred between 19,000 BC - 15,500 BC, it's beginnings found in the Asian Steppe. According to eupedia.org "R1b is the most common haplogroup in Western Europe reaching over 80% of the population in Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, western Wales, the Atlantic fringe of France, the Basque country and Catalonia."
R1b1a2 (R-M269)
 |
| Density Map of R-M269 |
This is the period of the Neolithic Revolution when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherers to agriculture and settlement. Our ancient ancestors learned how to observe, grow and develop plants for agricultural purposes. Interestingly enough, this is when human nutrition began to downturn as we moved away from the diversity of plants to preferring others for agricultural production. Our nomadic tendencies came to an end too as preference for settlements and villages made us into sedentary societies. A scientific paper on this cultural transition from hunter-gatherers to agriculture can be found here. For further maps and study of our ancient culture see Maps of Neolithic & Bronze Age migrations around Europe.
R1b-P311 - Parent of the Atlantic Modal Haplotype
| Migration of R-P311, Wikipedia.org |
Referring to Michael Hammer's 2013 FamilyTreeDNA Conference slide presentation he suggests haplogroup R lineages spread into western Europe about 5,000 years ago. Due to this migration it is suggested P311 moved into Europe after the Neolithic agricultural transition which nearly displaced the original inhabitants, the previously dominate western European Neolithic Y haplogroup.
The origins of P311 are not precisely defined. However it is thought that our male ancestor who first bore this very rare mutation originated 6,500-5,000 years ago from Central Europe or the Lower Danube region. For more detailed analysis of this SNP please visit the R1b page at FamilyTreeDNA.
The origins of P311 are not precisely defined. However it is thought that our male ancestor who first bore this very rare mutation originated 6,500-5,000 years ago from Central Europe or the Lower Danube region. For more detailed analysis of this SNP please visit the R1b page at FamilyTreeDNA.
P311 and its subclades experienced a rapid demographic expansion 5,000-6,000 years ago which brought on the Invasion of Western Europe. It is thought, but not certain that this expansion correlated with the the arrival of the Western Indo-European languages. This is a hotly contested debate among linguistic experts and is quite controversial.
R1b1a2a1a1a (R-U106) - The Germanic Branch
Although U106 is found all over Europe and in countries that Europeans have migrated to, it is most significant in Germany and surrounding countries, Scandinavia, and Britain. The Germanic cultures included the Jutes, Angles, Saxons, and Frisians. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes make their appearance in Britain in 449 AD at the request of Vortigern to help protect Britain from the Picts. He allows them to settle in eastern coastal Britain. For a detailed report of technical analysis and geography of R-U106 please visit Dr. Iain McDonald's work on this particular Y-chromosome.
R1b1b2a1a4 (L48)
The age of L48 is estimated 3175 BC - 2075 BC. According to FTDNA it is the largest subclade of R-U106 and were described by the Romans as the Germanic Tribes of Europe. Referring to the right hand side of the U106 phylogenic tree below we can see where L48 branches off of Z301/S499 of the U106. All of the subclades below L48 are deep ancestry "cousins" but we are focusing on the left-hand branch of L48. As you can see there is a modal or indicator marker 636=11. This is known as ySTR marker DYS636. If the value equals eleven that is a strong indicator that the male will test positive for L48 and give confidence that the male tester will want to test the L48 Backbone Panel which will be discussed below.
Further examination of the phylogenic tree reveals S23189. Until recent developments in DNA testing, prior to when the L48 SNP Backbone pack became available this was the furthest reach for DNA testing we could go. From the development of the L48 Backbone test further clades R-A6706 and R-BY3320 were revealed by Sproul testers. These results became the new outer limits until recently when a few of our cousins decided to Big Y test to further develop our lineage into recorded genealogical time.
Phylogenic Tree courtesy of Maciamo Hay
So where are we now?
Currently we know our specific clade is FGC60974. This is just the beginning of how DNA can make or break our brick wall! According to Dr. Iain McDonald's age analysis chart this mutation occurred about 1444 AD, range of 988 AD - 1750 AD. This is the early beginnings of recorded genealogical time. This is where it begins to really matter and why we DNA test. That is how far we've come in the last year or two in DNA testing.
Dr. Iain McDonald's SNP Age Analysis Table
| Clade | Best guess | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| The common ancestor of... | ...was born around... | The real date is likely to be in the range of... |
With input from additional deep-clade testing we can begin to see a much clearer picture emerge as to who our closest cousins are. That really is the goal here isn't it? In addition to wanting to discover deeper roots of our ancestry we want to find our closest cousins in more recent times so we can collaborate and discover where our ancestors immigrated from. We also want to develop our tree as much as we can.
One of the great things about testing with a deep-clade test like Big Y is that it is not a "one and done" type test as to what it can reveal. The more people who deep-clade test the more your results become relevant in discovering additional clades (branches) of the Sproul family. Your results continually refine themselves with each result of everyone that has taken the test. You have novel variants, also known as singletons waiting for a close cousin to match with you. If and when a new cousin tests and shares a more recent ancestor with you than your current clademate you will automatically be revised to that new clade or branch. Once you have taken a deep-clade test you will never have to take any other Y-chromosome test.
So how do I deep clade test you ask? Well, first of all we need to have results of a ySTR test. Because the more markers you test for improves accuracy we prefer a tester to test a minimum of 37, preferably 67 ySTR markers or more. Anything less than that you will match other testers that are way beyond genealogical relevance. This test can only be done by a male in the direct line of the ancestor in which you are researching. Therefore, since we are interested in researching Sproul lineages we will need to test a male Sproul from that particular line. For further explanation on this topic and others as DNA relates to genealogy please visit the blog of Roberta Estes DNA Explained.
This should be the very beginning step of your DNA journey, and in fact you shouldn't purchase any other yDNA tests until this step has been completed. If for some reason you have an unknown paternal event in your ancestry this test will tell you. Once that determination has been made you will want to adjust your research and future testing accordingly. Once the test has confirmed that your results have aligned with Sproul ancestry then you will want to consider taking the L48 Backbone Panel test.
L48 SNP Backbone Panel
Before we go all out on the expense of Big Y or other deep-clade test we might want to consider testing in another way to confirm we are L48+. This is where the L48 SNP Backbone test offered by FamilyTreeDNA or other L48 panels offered by similar testing companies. This test identifies 143 different SNPs of two different branches of U106. The L48 SNP Backbone test covers both branches which will confirm with confidence whether or not you are positive in the Sproul lineage. There are several other surnames that also share L48 with Sproul so this is a deeper clade test to confirm your lineage. If you are confident of a positive L48 result you can choose to skip this test and consider Big Y or similar test. The SNPs that you may test positive in the L48 Backbone test as well as any remaining ySTR markers you haven't upgraded for will also be revealed in your Big Y results.
Big Y
Due to recent Big Y and FGC 2.1 deep-clade testing we have been able to determine that FGC60972 and/or FGC60974 is where most Sprouls begin to emerge in documented genealogical time (DGT). We are able to test other male Sprouls who are L48 positive and can say with almost certainty they will also be positive for SNPs FGC60972 and/or FGC60974. Sprouls could theoretically begin to branch off at either of the two SNPs.
What is exciting is FGC60972 and FGC60974 are the very beginning for us Sprouls. Our DNA has finally arrived to DGT so now we need to determine what novel variants or novels occurred since then and which of those novels do we have in our own specific line today.
How we determine which novels we inherited works like this. Let's assume Walter Spreull had at least one son. At his conception that son inherits all of his father's Y-chromosome DNA, SNPs and all. At the same time Walter's son has created a new variant which is unique only to him. So now not only does he have everything Walter inherited he has also created a new novel variant for himself. Let's say Walter's son has two sons, sons A & B. Son "A" has a carbon copy of his fathers DNA and the other son "B" has the same exact copy as his father including a new novel of his own. So sons "A" and "B" have created their own personal unique novel variant.
This is incredibly useful because if I look at my own DNA and I haven't inherited the new novel variant that son "B" created, I then know I'm not directly descended from him. Therefore son "A" becomes my main focus of interest. Now consider multiplying this over the generations since Walter and how many Sproul branches there really must be!
What Big Y and similar deep-clade tests do is it identifies these novel variants. The more that are found from having many other Sprouls test is that we can start to sort them out, determine when they occurred by aging them and determine our individual branches from their identity. So if we have two James Sprouls in Ireland in 1800 and we think one is our ancestor but don't know which one is ours the sure fire way to know is to compare our results with known descendants of both James Sprouls. This is why it is vitally important to test as many Sprouls as possible in order to reconstruct our cousin branches.
Unfortunately today we do not have a testing panel similar to L48 that identifies all of the Sproul novel variants. This would require numerous Sprouls globally to deep-clade test to identify all of the novels we think are out there and select the ones that isolate individual branches. From those selected novels a panel would be developed which would eliminate the need to deep-clade test. In the event that someone panel tested and didn't match any of the novels on the panel they would then need to Big Y test. Their newly discovered novel would then be added to the panel.
What if I already tested with another company?
Many people, male and female have tested with other testing companies. I would say the majority of these results are from autosomal testing. There is nothing wrong with autosomal testing and there is a practical use for it but will not necessarily help us in determining our patrilineal ancestry. I will write a post at a near future date on how to use autosomal testing to corroborate our paper trail of our research.
If you have autosomal results or even yDNA results from a company other than FamilyTreeDNA and would like to join the Sproul DNA project group send me an email. Depending on where you tested we may be able to migrate those results over to FTDNA.
I hope you found this information useful and the impact DNA testing can have on solving your brick wall!
Comments
Post a Comment