For the maternal line an evolutionary framework has been established going back 150,000 years, that reveals that almost everyone in Europe, or whose maternal roots are in Europe, are descended from one of only seven women. Each of them founded a maternal clan whose descendants make up well over 95% of modern Europeans. These seven women have been recently named as Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine and Jasmine. In other parts of the world, twenty seven equivalent clans have been identified so far. These other clans include twelve exclusively in Africa, four in East Eurasia, and America, four in East Eurasia only, eleven in Central and West Eurasia, one in West Eurasia and America and one in Africa and West Eurasia. For testing of mtDNA check out a company called Oxford Ancestors. Not only can this company undertake to do the testing of an individuals mtDNA but also have a database of over 14,000 mitochondrial DNA sequences from all over the world and will find the closest match to your DNA.

The Y-chromosome contains a gene that directs the development of a human embryo along the pathway to becoming male. As long as this gene is working properly, any human embryo which has a Y-chromosome will grow into a baby boy. Men produce two types of sperm in equal amounts. Half contain a Y–chromosome and half contain an X-chromosome.

The eggs produced by women have only X-chromosomes. Fertilised eggs have either two X- chromosomes, and become girls, or one X and one Y chromosome and become boys.

By producing a genetic signature of the Y-chromosome it is possible to determine links between people with the same Surname. The Y-chromosome is passed from father to son.

Although Y-chromosome signatures do change very slowly over time, the pattern is stable over hundreds of years. This means that male relatives who have an uninterrupted male-male link between them will share the same, or very similar, Y-chromosome signature. This is ideal when a connection between different branches of a family, perhaps with the same surname, is suspected but cannot be proven from written records. The Y-chromosome signature can supply the answer. The Y-chromosome signature analyses ten different genetic sites to make comparison. For further information on the testing of Y-chromosome there are a number of companies who do this service. One such company is Oxford Ancestors who’s website is http://www.oxfordancestors.com.