Not long ago an Americans of African decent trying to trace his or her genealogy came up against a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: slavery. Even if a person's ancestry could be traced back through the slave years in this country, it was considered virtually impossible to determine where in Africa one's family originated.

 

However, science is now solving the riddles of the past. Some time next year Howard University plans to begin offering genetic testing so Americans of African ancestry can determine where on the continent their ancestors came from.

 

In the meantime, Ancestry, established by Howard University genetic researcher that has a database that covers 10,000 samples of DNA from 98 different tribes in Africa and offers Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA testing for $349.00.  The collection concentrates on ethnic groups in areas where the majority of slaves imported to the United States (Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, all of which are in West Africa.; and more from Senegal, the Gambia, the Congo River basin, and Angola.