Discovering ancestry: Through our toes?

Some say that the eyes are a mirror into soul, but many experts will argue that it’s the feet that can tell you much about a person.

Order a MyHeritage DNA kit to learn about your origins

While family trees and historical records are the more common tools leading to family history discoveries, our own bodies can teach us about our family heritage.

Reflexologists often claim that they are able to interpret a lot about a person’s personality just from their feet. In Imre Somogyi’s book, The Language of the Feet, he writes how ancestry can be determined just by the shape of our feet.

The five different types of feet are supposed to say something about your origins. For example, we have the Anglo-Saxon foot, which is narrow and long. The Germanic foot, on the other hand, is crescent-shaped and narrower in the hindfoot than in the forefoot. In comparison to the Germanic type, the Romanic type has a straight axis, and the foot is fuller. In any case, the foot types are subdivided according to shape, and they are named according to regional terms.

So now take off your socks and look at the following picture:

Egyptian feet

The Egyptian foot, with the big toe longer than the others and each subsequent toe slanting downwards at a 45 degree angle, is seen as the most aesthetically pleasing foot shape. As a rule, the toes are generally longer and narrower than with other foot shapes. It is estimated that over 50% of Europeans have this foot shape — making it the most common in this part of the world.

Roman feet

In the Roman foot shape, the first three toes are equal in length, and the other two are shorter. One in 10 Europeans has this foot shape.

Greek feet

With the Greek foot shape, the second toe is significantly longer than the big toe and therefore the longest. Every third person in Europe has this foot shape.

Germanic feet

The Germanic foot is characterized by equally long smaller toes with a larger big toe. This foot shape is now very rare in Europe.

Celtic feet

On the Celtic foot, the second toe is the longest, the big and middle toes are about the same length, as are the two smaller toes. The Celtic foot is mainly represented in northern Europe, but can only be found there sporadically.

Other people have turned to interpreting their heritage through zodiac signs, and even palm reading, to provide clues about their past and future.

Have you found any unique ways to learn more about your heritage? Does the above picture reflect your ancestry?

You can find more about your origins by taking a MyHeritage DNA test, which provides you with an Ethnicity Estimate: a percentage-based breakdown of your ancestors’ countries of origin — and a list of DNA Matches, people who share DNA with you and could be your relatives.

Order the MyHeritage DNA kit now and find out more about your origins!