Glossary

A woman who lived between 10,000 and 200,000 years ago and is considered to be the ancient maternal ancestor from whom all people in a particular clan are descended.

The order or arrangement of the DNA code making up the DNA molecule.

The determination of the order of the four DNA letters within the DNA molecule. Once the DNA is extracted and purified from a cell sample, it is amplified and the sequence determined using a DNA sequencer.

The apparatus used to determine the sequence of a DNA molecule. These machines are expensive both to buy and to maintain.

The series of twenty-six numbers, each one corresponding to the length of a variable DNA segment on the Y-chromosome.