Oxford Ancestors was founded by Prof Bryan Sykes following press coverage of his genetic research and the publication of his first book “The Seven Daughters of Eve”. Bryan had been using DNA analysis to trace important events in human evolution and to show that everyone on Earth has common ancestry. When this information appeared in the press, he was overwhelmed by requests from the public for personal DNA analysis services.

The DNA that he was using for his research was a specific type called mitochondrial DNA (or mtDNA, for short), which is inherited solely down the maternal line. In other words, your mtDNA is inherited exclusively from your mother, who inherited it from her mother (your grandmother), who inherited it from her mother (your great grandmother), and so on back through time. The analysis of the mtDNA formed the basis of our first service, the MatriLine™ analysis.

The Company was formally incorporated as a University of Oxford “spin-out” in March 2001 and operated, initially, from Littlemore, just south of Oxford. Over the next 12 months, following constant media attention, we were inundated with samples from people who wanted to know more about their own maternal ancestry and their place in the family tree of all humanity. Soon the number of samples became so large that we had to relocate to larger premises, based in Kidlington, just north of Oxford.

Over the last three years, Oxford Ancestors has provided contextualised genetic analysis services that emphasise the connections between us all. We have performed over 10,000 analyses and helped many thousands of people to discover their ancestral roots. In 2003, we launched the Y-Clan™ and Tribes of Britain™ services to provide our customers with more information about their paternal ancestry. More services are in development and these will allow further insight into both your ancient maternal and paternal ancestry.

We are all human and we can prove it!