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What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners

Origin date
20 May 2021
Updated
19 Sep 2025
An Afrikaner family from the 1930s

An Afrikaner family from the 1930s

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Summary

The story of human history is one of migrations over the globe and admixture – the exchange of DNA – between populations. Two of the most dramatic of these migrations were slavery and European colonisation. The subsequent admixture between slaves, Europeans and indigenous populations led to the formation of new populations. One, at the southern tip of Africa, was a group that became known as Afrikaners.

How we know this

  1. 01Copyright © 2010–2025, The Conversation Africa, Inc. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.  Greeff, J. & Schlebusch, C. (2021). What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners, from The Conversation, 20 May 2021, [online]. Available at  https://theconversation.com/what-genetic-analysis-reveals-about-the-ancestry-of-south-africas-afrikaners-133242. Accessed 16 September 2025 

Last updated · 19 Sep 2025

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2025, September 16). What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0153059

South African History Online (2025) 'What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners', South African History Online, 16 September. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0153059 (Accessed: 28 August 2026).

South African History Online, What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0153059, (accessed 28 August 2026).

"What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners." South African History Online, 16 Sept. 2025, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0153059. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "What genetic analysis reveals about the ancestry of South Africa’s Afrikaners." South African History Online. September 16, 2025. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0153059.

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