The Living History Project has been completed. A final report on the results has been written by Professor Himla Soodyall of National Health Laboratory Service and School of Pathology, University of the Witwatersrand.

The report is available as a PDF file, and can be downloaded here.

The Living History research enterprise aimed to take DNA samples from about 500 - 1000 South Africans in order to trace their geographical ancestry.

It provides the first national database available in the public domain. The gene pool found in the present-day South African population draws from the indigenous people of Southern Africa, namely the former hunters or San groups, the pastoral Khoikhoi who are thought to have migrated to the Cape in the last 2,000 years introducing sheep and cattle to the region, and people originating from the Niger-Congo area speaking Nguni-languages who migrated south in the last 1,200 years. In addition, sea-borne immigrants from Western Europe (largely from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and France), indentured labourers from India and slaves from the Malaysian Archipelago, Madagascar and other parts of Africa, have also contributed to the gene pool. 

We wish to provide a DNA map of the genetic heritage and, thereby, adding an additional layer of information to our self-understanding of where we come from and who we are.

Project Associates: Mr Anton van Dorsten (Ancestry24) and Associate Professor Himla Soodyall (University of the Witwatersrand).

Funded by Ancestry24.com

Table of Articles on The Living History project: