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DNA genealogy research
Home » Genealogy » Genealogy - Truth or Fiction » DNA genealogy researchPosted by Your Guide on July 6, 2006 9:32 PM
The bottom line in DNA research as it relates to genealogy is that it can and can't tell you about your ancestors. What it CAN do is tell you if you carry the DNA that indicates you are of European descent, African American, Native American, or all of the above. DNA testing can tell you if you are, indeed, related to the people in your town that have the same last name, but are unaware of any blood connection. DNA research may, one day, be able to tell you if you may have had multiple Native American ancestors, or probably just one. It can already tell you if you are related to a family across the ocean if you have a sample from that family to compare to your own.
What DNA cannot tell you is the name of any other person, the common ancestor you share, or the relationship between two people who are farther apart on the relationship scale than parents and children or siblings. DNA is all about genetic relationships. It can indicate a possible or even probable family relationship, but it cannot tell you what that relationship might be.
Bryan Sykes, Founder of Oxford Ancestors and a Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, is the foremost authority in the link between DNA and surnames. He and his coworkers produced the most complete DNA family tree constructed to date. Their work with mitochondrial DNA recognized the relationship between Y-chromosomes and surnames. His research is the basis for much of the DNA genealogical research that is being done today.
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