What's this site about ?
This site is about a DNA mutation called R-Z18. Don't worry, there's no reason to be afraid. Having this mutation, does not mean that you'll be getting some sort of scary decease. It doesn't even mean, you're going to grow big ears or something. This mutation can be seen as a sort of harmless birth mark that's inherited by males from their father without it ever being noticed. But this genetic birth mark can be used to trace back all who carry it, to a man who lived some 3,000 years ago presumably somewhere along the North Sea coast in Europe.
The group of all men that carry R-Z18 can be seen is a huge super family in which the genealogical families known today form the branches, so that R-Z18 might be helpful as well to those who are trying to connect families with unknown relationships on paper.
This site brings together all information available today on R-Z18. The information will be presented it in a number of ways using the latest web technology (see image on the right):
- clear directions for people and who consider testing R-Z18;
- suggestions for using R-Z18 in family projects;
- lists of marker-wise test results (both positive and negative);
- textual explanations of those results;
- map of geographic origins;
- a tree of the R-Z18 family;
- and above all: the history of R-Z18.
As such, this site is a strictly non-commercial information service for all who have tested R-Z18 (but open to all for the time being).
Second objective of this site is to help finding new members of the R-Z18 family. If lots of people are found positive for R-Z18 and tell us the story and origin of their family (as far as this is all known of course), no doubt we will be able to assemble a history of the complete family by combining all information. It is not absolutely necessary to know a lot about your family's history to be welcome as member of R-Z18. Even if you know nothing about your background, knowing your profile to be positive, will help discovering the structure of the "family".