http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p=topics.ethnic.scots&m=1 *note* the above ought to be entered into your browser window in one line Dear All: There is an emerging interest in looking at the possibility of a Project to evaluate the use of DNA markers for ancestry studies in the Scottish Clans and Septs. There are already several Scottish Studies underway and several more are forming. Their initial results are interesting. The Scottish clans are very unique in that the Clans have been identified and family relationships tracked for hundreds of years. Some Clan family have documented histories stretching back to before 1000 AD ( and some back to 500AD) . So this leads to some interesting possibilities of identifying current clan family members and determining if the Scottish ancestry line can be identified. Some have cautioned: be careful because you may find out that you are not who you think you are :-). Non-paternity events were as frequent then as they are now. There is also an interesting mailing list here on Rootsweb : Genealogy-DNA-L@rootsweb.com. It turns out that A couple of factors make this a very interesting study for the Clans to be involved in. A: The mtDNA passes down the mother to daughter line. ( All of her children receive the MtDna but only the daugher passes it on.) So all the current children can provide mtDNA. The matriarch of the family becomes clearly identified and her ancestry traceable. Scottish history is one of the few in the world where female lineage was often documented. Iceland is another. Note that non paternity events don't occur very often in this DNA since obviously the mother knows her daughter is her offspring. B: The Y DNA passes only from father to son. Then the tests can see if there is a line of potential coordination between the written documentation and the Y DNA markers. C: The Most Recent Common Ancestor ( MRCA) should also give some interesting insights into the common ancestor lines that they may share. There are some other fine points of the DNA identification and you can find out a lot more in the archives of the mailing list. Anybody that is really interested in participating should please reply to me at the email address below or reply to this message post. Then just list only your interest, surname , contact info and potential Clan association. I don't want to clog up the archives with a lot of "me too" emails and board posts. :-) Any comments or questions are appropriate to post. Someone will then contact you for further details and how to proceed. Please note there will probably be cost of some amount for the DNA test. I don't know what that amount is for the test, but it is probably about $250. My initial survey indicates that we will want the 23 marker DNA test to get some definitive answers. I expect to get more details next week. We are also interested in obtaining Volunteers to assist on the Project committee in the various aspects of this massive project. We need someone to select and co-ordinate the Labs, handle the Project co-ordination with each Clan etc. The role of Project Manager is also needed desperately. Please feel free to pass this message along to other mailing lists and boards that may have a high per centage of Scottish Clan or Sept descendants. Should be an interesting database over the months and years :-) Best Regards John A Hansen jahansen@qwest.net Clan Board and List Admin ------------ to subscribe Genealogy-DNA-L-request@rootsweb.com subscribe ^^^^ above in the body of the email