"Max Blankfeld" <max@familytreedna.com> wrote: > First, both males and females can be tested. Males > test for the Y-DNA (from father to son...) and females test for the > mtDNA (from mother to daughter). Not true. Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to all children, male and female. > Females testing their mtDNA will find more anthropological answers: > deep ancestry and migration. Again, not true. Mitochondrial DNA provides the same evidence of relationships - it's just more complicated to trace as the common surname is not there as a guide. > Although this is a short paragraph, I hope it will shed some light > into the use of genetics in genealogy. While we say that DNA > testing is one more tool to be used in conjunction with traditional > genealogy, there are many people who have tested, and who said that > one test done to compare two individuals solved a 20, 30 or even 45 > year puzzle which included many thousands of dollars spent in travel > and research. It still only gives information about a single line. - the one linked to the surname. It CAN be used to confirm (or not) family myths and/or apparent male descent lines, but when one considers the numbers of ancestors about whom nothing can be learned by these methods, its use for genealogical purposes is very limited. Lesley Robertson Lesley Robertson <l.a.robertson@tnw.tudelft.nl>