Understanding and Interpreting the Results
| Determining DNA Signature Groups |  |
The test results have been divided into eight separate DNA signature groups indicated by the different background colors in the table below. A documented connection between the different signature groups is not likely to be found because the groups are believed to be separated by more than 1000 years based on the number of mutations.
- The average rate of mutation for a specific DYS is 1 mutation every 500 generations.
- A generation is considered to be 20 years.
| Individual Signature Groups | |
All members of the same signature group are likely to have a common ancestor that lived within a time frame that makes finding a documented connection possible.
| Haplogroups | |
Haplogroups are used to group and explain the migration paths of the worlds population over thousands of years. Most of the individuals tested are from Haplogroup R1b1 with the exception of group 4 which belongs to Haplogroup I and group 6 which belong to Haplogroup Q. Written documentation has recorded the Rutledge surname as far back as the 1400s along the Scottish England border where they lived as "border reivers". Haplogroups R1b1 and Haplogroup I are consistent with what would be expected with this theory.
- Haplogroup R1b1 is the most common haplogroup in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype. ( Family Tree DNA )
- Haplogroup I, I1, and I1a lineages are nearly completely restricted to northwestern Europe. These would most likely have been common within Viking populations. One lineage of this group extends down into central Europe. ( Family Tree DNA )
- Haplogroup Q is the lineage that links Asia and the Americas. This lineage is found in North and Central Asian populations as well as native Americans. This lineage is believed to have originated in Central Asia and migrated through the Altai / Baikal region of northern Eurasia into the Americas.. ( Family Tree DNA )