Your testing options: Y-DNA
Testing your DNA is a straightforward process ©As you would expect with any technology, new types of testing continue to emerge, but we'll briefly explore the most popular types available today, starting with the granddaddy of them all, Y-DNA.
Y-DNA testing uses the Y chromosome, which is only sported by males of the species. This has contributed to a myth that women can't play. Just as many take their first steps in genealogy by googling their surname, most venture into genetic genealogy by testing their surname - and I was no different. So when I wanted to test the family I was born into, I picked up the phone and asked my father to take the test. If he had refused, I could have turned to one of my brothers or a paternal uncle or cousin.
'The reason Y-DNA is so irresistible to family historians is because it's passed intact from father to son down through the generations.'
The reason Y-DNA is so irresistible to family historians is because it's passed intact from father to son down through the generations. This is wildly convenient since surnames are passed the same way in most cultures. Barring a non-paternity event (yes, they do happen, so make sure you can live with the results if they surface a surprise in your family tree!), the surname and Y-DNA travel through time in tandem - meaning that every man walking the planet today carries the same Y-DNA genetic signature as his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. He's a living representative of those who came before, so no - and this is yet another popular myth - it's not necessary to dig up the dearly departed.
Published: 2007-08-24
© MMIX