Geneology - What's yours?

[ThistleDown]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ThistleDown
...The gaps I was referring to, however, are ancestral and I don't think can yet be filled this way, can they? That is, if I am A and know for certain about ancestors B through L from a paper trail, will DNA testing produce M?

I am not sure what your question is.

If one man has a paper trail to an ancient ancestor, and another has a dead end more recent than that, and the Y DNA results show that they match, then of course it would be reasonable to conclude that they are descended from a common ancestor is there not?

There are other true gaps--not mere dead ends--- that genetic genealogists claim to have crossed with no paper trail at all. The haplotypes of descendants of Niall of the Seven Hostages and Somerled are said to have been identified.

No, in your first example you are recognising two present-day individuals' DNA and finding a common ancestor. That's triangulation and, of course, is the science. I am asking if it is possible, through DNA testing of a single person, to discover his ancestor at a specific generation in the past. I don't believe it is and, if not, then there is a "proof" gap at that generation.