About us
For all Albanians with direct paternal lineage (Y-DNA) or direct maternal lineage (mtDNA) of Albanian ancestry, no matter the country! This includes any Albanians who have tested at Family Tree DNA, iGenea, as well as any Albanian National Geographic participants who may transfer their results to FTDNA for free and join this project. This project is also open to minorities living among Albanian territories. By joining this project you will contribute to better understand our ethnogenesis, and in return you will learn more about your own origins. As our member database grows, we can have a much better understanding of our ancient origins by reaching thousands of years into the past, as well as our ethnogenetic makeup.
Për verzionin në shqip, klikoni më lart "BACKGROUND"
Dear visitor. This project is run by volunteer project administrators. Family Tree DNA group administrators are unpaid volunteers who have an interest in the history and the genealogy of a particular haplogroup, lineage, or geographic region.
>>For those who are already tested at FamilyTreeDNA or iGenea, click JOIN above or follow this link to join our project: https://www.familytreedna.com/my/group-join.aspx?group=AlbanianBloodlines
>>For those who would like to order a new test kit from FTDNA, please click >>HERE<<. For the male line, Y-DNA12 costs only $59, but it is recommended at least Y-DNA37.
By joining this group, your result will become part of the Albanian project at Gjenetika.com
We would like to keep our project growing by testing Albanians through the project. Any donations are welcomed by clicking the DONATE link on the left. Funds can only be used to purchase tests at FamilyTreeDNA!
One of the goals of this project will also be to map out the genetic paternal lines, or Y-DNA haplogroups, of the Albanian tribes, also known as clan or fis in Albanian. All the results we have gathered thus far are under the RESULTS tab above.
Project members: If you know you belong to a certain tribe or clan, please let us know. Or you may list your tribe's name and where it hails from by going to: Manage Personal Information > Genealogy > Under "Direct Paternal, Name"
What is a Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) STR test? What will I learn?
From Family Tree DNA: "A Y-DNA test looks at male inherited Y-Chromosome DNA. As the Y-Chromosome is passed on from a father to his sons, it is only found in males. Y-DNA testing can then be used to trace clearly a direct paternal line. When testing the Y-Chromosome, there are two types of tests, short tandem repeat (STR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). STR tests are best for recent ancestry while SNP tests tell about more ancient ancestry. Our standard Y-DNA panels use STRs and are useful in verifying common ancestry between two males and finding genetic cousins on the paternal line. However, each of our Y-DNA STR tests comes with a haplogroup prediction that is backed by our SNP Assurance policy. Y-DNA STR tests can also then be used for determining geographic origins of the direct paternal line as well as the deep ancestral origins"
Which Y-DNA marker test should I take?
Family Tree DNA offers Y-DNA marker tests from 12 up to 111 markers. More markers simply means a better precision of how recent two males of the same haplogroup are related on the direct paternal line, as well as a more refined haplogroup prediction. In most cases, a Y-DNA37 marker test is enough to achieve both. Since only matches at Y-DNA37 or above are relevant, we recommend the Y-DNA37 test or better Y-DNA67. But someone may just start with the basic Y-DNA12 test with the option to upgrade later if wanted. However, I would not expect much from a Y-DNA12 besides just being assigned the basic haplogroup, since matches at Y-DNA12 are usually several thousand years apart.
For general info and links, see here: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/albanian-bloodlines/links