Ancestral Memories and History Stored in DNA

We all know that the human genome and DNA contributes to the division of cells that "know" how to divide and make up different parts of the human body. Some cells develop into the brain and other neurological systems. Other cells develop into the heart and cardiovascular systems, while yet other cells make up each different organ, the blood cells, the different limbs, and parts of the human make up that makes each one of us individual from anyone else.

However, this same genetic code may hold the mystery of holding memories of others in distant times past that resurrect in different people as repressed memories of distant places, peoples, and times, or the sense of "déjà vu" where they are positive they have been there before without any record of that happening, or why many people tend to migrate to a specific area to live.

I have followed many families that began in one area and then moved throughout the country. Generations later, the descendants settled back into the original area and their reasons have been "it was like coming home" or "this is where I have to live". They appear to have been predispositioned to do so. Many times while working on genealogical lines, I have found that many generations later, that descendants of a specific group have ended up in the very place their lines may have started or where a significant event in the lives of ancestors occurred. It is quite possible that they are preset within their DNA genetic code to do this, similar to the "homing instinct" found in many animals.

One man, who had previously lived in Central Maryland and whose grandparents lived on the Eastern Shore, moved unknowingly to a town where his great grandfather had grown up. Another man, who had lived in another state where his parents grew up, along with their parents, bought land that he later found out had been personally farmed by his great grandfather. A woman, whose parents lived in another state hundreds of miles away, ended up buying a house right where her great grandfather had lived. Coincidence? Perhaps, or maybe it is something else altogether and is somehow tied into their ancestral memory.

Why do many children find they begin to not only resemble their parents, but also begin to think and do many of the things their parents did and in the same way, even after consciously trying to be different for many years? Why do people claim a relationship with a distant personage, even if there appears to not be a genetic link between them? (I do believe in the Six Levels of Generations that connect most people into the same ancestral lines).

Is it that our very cells at the molecular level carry the information that is eventually accessed and then change how we mentally view our present condition, how we view our past, our current thinking, or physical movements that lead people to move to a certain location? Other studies using twins that were raised in different locations, under different economic, educational, and environmental bases and without knowing who their real parents were, still drove the same type of vehicle, lived in similar types of homes, and even lived in neighboring areas. Then add to the mix, that they often named their children and pets the same names as the then unknown twin. Inherent ancestral history stored in the DNA may hold the answers.

Just how much information is actually stored in the DNA that makes us who we are? Along with the genetic diagram to make us tall or short, brown, or blue eyed, and even the level of intelligence, does it also hold more secrets than humans have yet to uncover?

There have been many studies to find out if the history of our past is somehow a part of our genetic makeup. Theories abound, both for and against this idea, but which are probably conflicted by the pressures and environmental changes that are currently important to the times or era in which we live.

One study involving the use of mice showed that the first generation had to run a maze several times over a period of months in order to learn the maze; however, subsequent studies of the descendants of these same mice showed that the last generation tested could run the maze within seconds of first being introduced to it. Has this information been stored into their DNA?

Other people have gut feelings or in the case of women, something known as intuition. Is this a learned response because of past experiences within their individual lifetimes or is it a genetic code that is giving them the correct answer based on generations of learning that has been passed on to future generations?

It would seem that mapping the genetic code of human beings is similar to finding the book. Now, as scientists continue to study this map, they have to learn what is written on the pages and that may include finding we are genetically hardwired to do the same types of things our ancestors did, albeit in a more modern way based on the times and the environments in which we live. It seems that our DNA incorporates far more than just the information that creates our physical body, but other later cognitive abilities that are later expressed in our actions.

Sources:

Genetic memory

Genetic memory, Wikipedi

Genetic Memory - Think your memories are just your own?

Genetic Memory and the Theories on How We Become like Our Ancestors