u/genealogykenya

This Early Pastoral Neolithic woman (mtDNA L3f1b) was recovered from the same burial site — and likely the same burial phase — as the Prettejohn male at the GsJi11 locality in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya. Their remains were found in close association, suggesting they were interred around the same time.

Archaeologists consider two main possibilities:

• They may have been partners, buried together as part of a small herding household.
• Or she may have been his younger kin (different mothers), possibly even his daughter, given inferred age differences.

Genetically on G25 calculators, she shows closest modern affinity to Oromo, Eritrean, and Ethiopian Jewish populations — reflecting deep Horn‑of‑Africa–related ancestry blended with local East African forager components.

Quirky fact: She’s basically Kenya’s “First Lady” — the earliest Eastern African female whose DNA has been fully sequenced.

Together, she and the Prettejohn male offer a rare snapshot of early herder life in the Rift Valley — two individuals preserved from the dawn of cattle‑keeping in Kenya’s Holocene record.

Images: These are predictions of her at different phases of her life, doing various activities Stone Age herders in East Africa likely engaged in.

Accidentally uncovered in 1969 during geological trenching near Lake Nakuru, this individual is part of Kenya’s oldest directly‑dated Holocene human remains. Genetically, he carries Y‑DNA E2a (E‑M41) and mtDNA K1a, falling within the early Pastoral Neolithic ancestry cluster — a three‑way mix of northern African/Levant‑related ancestry, Nilotic‑related ancestry, and deep East African forager ancestry.

He represents one of the earliest pastoralists entering the Rift Valley, a small initial wave of herders whose arrival marks the beginning of cattle‑keeping lifeways in Kenya. Archaeologically and ethnogenetically, groups like his were also likely responsible for introducing domestic dogs into East Africa, as early pastoralist expansions are the first contexts where dogs appear consistently in the region.

Genetically, his closest modern population affinities fall near Oromo, Wolayta, and Eritrean groups — reflecting the same north‑to‑south corridor through which early pastoralists moved into Kenya.

Excavated at White Rock Point along the shores of Lake Victoria (Homa Bay), individual I8930 is currently the oldest human whose genome has been sequenced from Kenya. Dated to ~4500 BC, he belonged to the ceramic-using Kansyore fisher-forager culture and carried the deep indigenous paternal lineage Y-DNA B2b1a1 and maternal mtDNA L2a4.

Genetically, he represents the basal, deeply diverged East African hunter-gatherer substrate that inhabited the region long before the demographic expansions of Cushitic-speaking herders, Nilotic pastoralists, and Bantu agriculturalists. Autosomal modeling shows his lineage shares its closest genetic affinity with modern relict hunter-gatherer and indigenous populations like the Hadza, Sandawe, and Ari.

Results from Luhya match indicate extremely high SEA ancestry and trace amounts of Central Africa and NEA (Sudanese) . Paternal lineage is E-M4252 and L0a

Results seem to indicate higher Ethiopian and SEA but relatively low Sudanese. We share same general M1a maternal Haplogroup but they have a downstream version of it

My results (left) compared to Kalenjin man. Results indicate high Sudanese ancestry with elevated Neanderthal DNA compared to other matches I have. Unsurprisingly we seem to have the same Southern Nilotic Haplogroup E-M41 (unconfirmed on his side)

A Luo match results (right side is Luo)

Tribe: Kalenjin

I’m disappointed yet again with how vague most consumer genetic companies are with African populations. Relying on generic umbrella terms like "East African" is incredibly frustrating. It’s a massive, diverse region packed with distinct cultures, languages, and significant genetic variation. Lumping us all into one broad category completely glosses over our deep, distinct lineages.

On the positive side, I managed to snag this Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) kit for the incredibly low price of $19.99, which is honestly impressive. I have to give them major credit: it included an intermediate Y-haplogroup report that no other company—not even 23andMe or my YFull upload—could determine( As suspected I am of haplogroup E-M41) . Getting that clearer picture of my paternal lineage was definitely a huge win. (I believe this requires subscription but I was on free trial period)

Also, their partnership with Illustrative DNA gave me access to some really interesting perspectives on my ancestry. Even though it is simulated, their ancient DNA admixture breakdown felt a lot more accurate and nuanced than the broad modern categories.

For the price and the paternal breakthrough alone, it was worth it. Has anyone else had better luck tracing specific African lineages or using Illustrative DNA to bypass the generic modern categories?

Last image is of previous version

Disclaimer! Illustrative DNA does not use official Davidski G25 coordinates.

This is a follow‑up post regarding the Kenyan Kalenjin results. After getting inconsistent outcomes from Illustrative DNA, I decided to dig deeper. It appears they use scaled coordinates, which in my case were highly inaccurate.
After taking due diligence, I purchased the official Davidski G25 coordinates, and the results aligned perfectly with my ethnic background. Honestly, charging $30 for scaled coordinates feels excessive, especially since similar data can be found free of charge on various DNA sites.
If you genuinely want to understand your ethnic background, I strongly recommend buying the official Davidski G25 coordinates and analyzing them with tools like Vahaduo or DNA Genics — it’s cheaper and far more accurate.
For those on a budget, LM Genetics K47 is an excellent alternative, particularly for individuals with African heritage. It’s the only calculator that closely matches my raw G25 results.
Honorable mention: Eurogenes K36 also performs decently.

For comparison, the second slide is the result from using  raw Davidski G25 coordinates on Vahaduo (Global G25 PCA) which is super precise considering my Kalenjin ancestry. The third slide is also using the same official coordinates on the AfroGeno Modern (Unscaled) IY8 calculator on DNA Genics G25 Studio.

TLDR: If you want official coordinates, request them directly from Davidski.
If you come from a well‑referenced population, Illustrative DNA might still be relatively accurate — but not for the price.

Interesting results but kind of disappointed with the G25 coordinates which fail to accurately distinguish Omotic vs Nilotic vs West Africa vs Africa HG thus just grouping all into ‘Sub Saharan’. On higher resolution calculators I accurately cluster closer to Maasai and other Nilosaharan groups.