What are the limitations of the Paternal Roots test?
• i) The Surname DNA test looks specifically at the Y-chromosome and thus will tell you about your direct paternal line – information about other lineages cannot be provided using this test. • ii) The results provide a haplogroup which is a branch of the gentic tree. Using academic databases we can provide a geographic region of that haplogroup and history. These databases are undergoing continued refinement and while we know a lot already, there is still more to learn. • iii) The haplogroups are rarely country specific. • iv) Although it may indicate affinity with and higher frequency within a particular population e.g. Jewish, Native American etc., the results are not usually exclusive to one population. For example, Middle Eastern Jews and Arabs share the same haplogroups. For Native American testing, this article may be helpful.
