It wasn’t exactly breaking news to have my DNA test results proclaim that my ancestry is 100 percent Finnish. That had been my understanding during my entire lifetime, yet somehow it was satisfying to have it confirmed and printed in a report that I could hold in my hand.

I had only done some cursory research prior to shipping off my spit in a vial, so I wasn’t actually prepared for the section of the DNA results that read:

“Hey Cindy! You have more Neanderthal DNA than 79 percent of other customers.” Yes, those prehistoric humans who interbred with modern humans before disappearing around 40,000 years ago. I found it humorous, but didn’t really know what it meant—except, of course, that they must have been Neanderthals from Finland.

In the graphic accompanying that news, my Neanderthal long-ago relative looks much like a caveman. And he’s carrying a spear. In the background are what appear to be mother and baby woolly mammoths. Woolly mammoths, too, are extinct. They lived during the Pleistocene and roamed the cold tundra regions of Europe, Asia and North America. They were probably plentiful in Finland, which is located at 60 – 70 degrees North latitude. The Arctic Circle latitude is 66.5 degrees North.

Actually, the report indicates that I have less than two percent Neanderthal DNA—260 variants in my DNA trace back to the Neanderthals. Those variants, it says, influence my traits.

Curiously, one of those variants is associated with having difficulty discarding rarely-used possessions. Okay… that sounds about right. I guess as Neanderthals we didn’t have many possessions. However, I know when my husband and I moved last summer there were way too many rarely-used possessions to figure out what to do with. The process of discarding many of them was somewhat painful.

Who knew this is what DNA says about you?

I have three variants associated with being LESS likely to have a fear of heights. I’m not sure about that. I don’t really mind going up a ladder, but I don’t like crossing bridges and certainly I don’t like driving in the mountains.

And one variant is associated with having more dandruff. No, I don’t think that applies at all.

Under my DNA health traits is this information:

• A 63 percent chance that I do not have
dimples. I don’t have dimples, but my
younger sister had beautiful dimples.
• A 95 percent chance that I do not have
a cleft chin. No, I don’t.
• Here my genetics give a 90 percent
chance that I’ve never had dandruff. I say
yes to that.
• Yes, my earlobes are detached (65
percent chance).
• I should have blue eyes (51 percent),
but no. Chance of greenish-blue eyes, 21
percent, perhaps. Chance of green eyes
is only 17 percent, but that’s closer to my
eye color than greenish-blue.
• Yes, my ring finger is longer than my
index finger (64 percent chance).
• Yes, I have some freckles (57 percent for
a few, 43 percent for lots).
• Hair texture, 54 percent says straight:
yes.
• Hair color: 37 percent light brown, 21
percent dark blond. Yes, somewhere in
there.
• Good chance for very fair or moderately
fair skin. Yup.
• Yes, my big toe is longer than the second toe (53 percent); no unibrow (81 percent); and no widow’s peak (77 percent).

What my 23andMe DNA report says of my Finnish ancestry:

“Finland was peopled by multiple waves of colonization, including a migration of early Uralic peoples from Eastern Europe or western Siberia. Modern Finns are genetically and linguistically distinct from their Nordic and Slavic neighbors, despite centuries of Swedish and then Russian rule. Today, there are up to seven million ethnic Finns worldwide, with over 600,000 living in the United States, concentrated in Minnesota and northwestern Michigan.”

Finnish DNA is described as being an outlier in the genetic landscape of Europe.

“Finland’s distinctive genetic heritage is largely a result of historically small, scattered communities, long-term geographic and cultural isolation from surrounding countries, and recent population expansion. Together, these forces resulted in ‘genetic drift,’ which is the change in the frequencies of DNA markers within a population occurring randomly over time. The result: a genetically distinctive population.”

The report goes on to say that at the end of the Ice Age 10,000 years ago, the first Finns moved in.

“The identity of these early inhabitants remains shrouded in mystery, but the first migrations to Finland likely involved only a handful of isolated hunter-gatherer groups. Today, the Saami people in the far north may represent the closest link to these hunter-gatherers, while other Finns owe much of their ancestry to at least two later waves of immigration that brought farming technologies to the southern and western coasts.”

Scientists, the report indicates, have identified nearly 40 rare diseases that occur more often in Finland than anywhere else, comprising a list called the “Finnish Disease Heritage” (abbreviated “FinDis”). A Pfizer news article on how Finland’s unique genetic heritage is being used to study the links between genes and diseases describes FDH as more than 35 recessive genetic disorders prevalent in Finland but rare elsewhere.

“The higher prevalence of these diseases is a result of Finland’s isolation and unique demographic history. However, due to the random nature of genetic drift, a number of diseases—like cystic fibrosis— are not as common in Finland as they are in other parts of Europe. Over the past 60 years, scientists have determined the genetic causes of most ‘Finnish’ diseases, thanks in part to Finland’s detailed genealogical records dating back to the 17th century which have helped geneticists track disease inheritance through families.”

I’m not sure what to think of that. I’ve been healthy all my life. I’ve never been in the hospital (except for being born and a single night decades later to have a sleep study done). The only surgery I’ve had is to have an impacted wisdom tooth removed just before I turned 50. Historically I’ve had low blood pressure. Not so much these days. No known genetic diseases… Finnish or otherwise. I have very good blood circulation; I’m usually warmer than others and I use a fan for comfort year-round.

Of Finland’s 18 administrative regions, the strongest evidence of my ancestry over the last 200 years is in 10 regions, with Southern Ostrobothnia being number one on the list. Southern Ostrobothnia is located in the southwest of Finland, a region of diverse landscapes and a sub-arctic climate. Finland101.com shares this information about Southern Ostrobothnia:

“One of the most unique natural wonders of Southern Ostrobothnia, Lake Lappajärvi is named after the municipality of Lappajärvi. There are many lakes in Finland of course, but what makes this one stand out from the others is that it was formed thanks to a meteor crater and there are only a few of them found throughout the country.

“Dating back to a prehistoric past, the impact that led to the Lappajärvi Lake forming is said to be over 75 million years old in the Late Cretaceous period. It is the subject of constant study and research and is helpful in identifying what the area around Finland might have looked like millions of years ago.”

I haven’t yet delved into the medical parts of the DNA report. It will likely be interesting when I get there. You’re required to complete a tutorial before gaining access to your health information.

I have, however, taken a look at my family and discussed our 100 percent Finnish heritage with my sister and a cousin. Sadly (to me), we discovered that there are four of us who are the end of the line for being 100 percent Finnish in our family. I have or had 17 cousins on my dad’s side of the family (from seven Kujala siblings) and 12 cousins on my mother’s side of the family (from four Jokinen siblings). My two sisters and I made 32 of our generation (at least the ones who survived early childhood).

Going through the list of cousins, it appears that there were seven of us 100 percent Finnish: my two sisters and me, plus the four children of my dad’s oldest sister. My younger sister and two of those cousins have passed, leaving my older sister and me and two of our cousins—two females, two males. I am the youngest of the four. One cousin and I have no children. My nieces and nephews are not 100 percent Finnish; neither are my cousins’ children.

Sadly, in our family, being 100 percent Finnish is reaching the end of the line. We’re going extinct like our Neanderthal relatives and the woolly mammoth.

NOTE: See article on p. 24, “What does it mean to have Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA?”

Cindy Kujala lives in Mt. Iron with her husband, John Lucas, and their furry feline, Luka Meadow. Since November 1, 2022, she has been acting as interim editor at HTF following the departure of Tucker Nelson. Starting in 2012 she was an HTF staff writer and later took on the role of editor for 3-1/2 years before retiring in July 2020. She can be reached at editor@htfnews.us.