Ancestry and genealogy are related fields. In fact, ancestry refers to the descendants that are related through blood. There are people who have studied genealogy and have specialized in it in their studies but there are many who do it as a pass time. Genealogy is the in-depth analysis and research of ancestry. People who study genealogy or are interested in it might conduct research in national archives and the public registry. Land records, tax records, church records can also assist in your search to draw your very own family tree- of course, do not be surprised if you come to a standstill or find a gap in your genealogy research that you cannot fill in. When you look at the extensive family trees of royalty and aritocratic families, it is often thanks to the painstacking work of genealogists that these trees exist. Genealogists normally do their research into families in exchange for money although they will often undertake research into important or prominent families out of interest. In such cases, they will often not charge the family and they will in fact, seek the help of the family in order to access old documents and family records. Genealogy also looked into the origins of Divine Kings (such as Solomon), people in the Clergy or saints and other hold figures.
Further to genealogy, there are ancestry DNA tests. With a simple oral swab rubbed inside the mouth you can have scientists tell you so much information about your ancient roots. The can tell you:
- What parts of the world your ancient ancestors came from
- Their migration patterns
- What anthropological groups they belonged to
You can also trace more specific ancestry through a DNA test. Testing the Y chromosome can help trace your paternal ancestry and testing mitochondrial DNA can help trace your maternal ancestry. Both these tests are very reliable because the Y chromosome undergoes very few mutations and so does mitochondrial DNA.
Ancestry testing and genealogy research together will definitely aid you in learning more about your ancestors and their descendants.