In a message dated 9/12/2007 11:06:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Janet - as I understand the process (and I'm no expert) a group of people join and submit DNA for testing. On the profile they indicate the farthest back relative that they can identify. Ours is from 1800, someone else has one from 1700, 1600, etc. Then DNA is compared to see if it matches another person, and so on. When several people match, you can assume that at some point you shared a common ancestor. Then your work begins. . . . . . .trying to fill in the blanks. Joanne in AZ ----- Joanne- Most group DNA tests thus far are Y DNA tests and only men can submit DNA for testing to those projects and it only tests descent on the paternal side (your father's father's father etc.). Y DNA testing cannot prove WHO the common ancestor is, only that there is the likelihood of a common paternal ancestor. There are various levels of testing which test for a different number of markers and the more markers tested the greater accuracy of the results and matches. Since a mutation occurs roughly once in 100 years, based upon the degree of match, it can be estimated just how many generations back the common ancestor is found. The rest all depends on the documentation the participants already have as to their ancestry. There are also some projects that test mtDNA (maternal DNA) which all children inherit from their mothers and which the female children pass along to their children. Therefore, anyone can be tested for mtDNA and for females it can determine your maternal lineage for comparison to others who have already been tested too. I think most of the above projects require you to know your ancestry at least four generations back in order for the results to be meaningful in any way. These tests can also test for your "Haplogroup" or deep ancestry. This can tell you basics as to what percentages of people you match whose origin is Eastern European, Western European, East Asian, Sub-Saharan African, etc. This test can't tell you whether you are English or Dutch or German with any degree of accuracy though--just deep roots. If those on this list are interested in learning more about DNA you might consider subscribing to the new RootsWeb list called [email protected] . Joan ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com