It's the Y-Chromosome they're after. Not the X. The DNA testing traces paternal lineages (i.e. father to son to grandson, etc.) by looking at markers on the Y-Chromosome that mutate very slowly over many generations. If two individuals share a surname and the large majority of markers, there is a strong likelihood that they descend from a common ancestor. jeff -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 2:57 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [NCLINCOLN] DNA information Isn't there some tests females can participate in? Not speaking as having fact, but I do believe females can do DNA for Native bloodlines. Crystal Murphy ==== NCLINCOL Mailing List ==== ==== LINCOLN Co., NC Mailing List ==== Sharing information on Historic Lincoln Co., NC For further info, see www.rootsweb.com/~nclincol/nclincoln.htm Our thanks to RootsWeb for hosting this list and web page