Genetic anthropology is a new branch of scientific study which deals with combining DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 data with available physical evidence and past histories of civilizations. This would enable scientists to glean through available genetic information that would go a long way in explaining how the modern day Homo sapiens evolved through the millennia. The Genographic Project, a joint collaboration between IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 and the National Geographic Society

National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...

 is a multi-million dollar step in this endeavor. The database is scheduled to become publicly available from June 28, 2007 in PLoS Genetics

PLoS Genetics

PLoS Genetics is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of genetics and genomics research by publishing contributions in all areas of biology. The journal is indexed in PubMed Central, PubMed, and ISI Web of Knowledge, and was originally created by Wayne...

, an open-source, peer-reviewed magazine.

See also

• Cross-cultural studies
  Cross-cultural studies
  Cross-cultural studies, sometimes called Holocultural Studies, is a specialization in anthropology and sister sciences that uses field data from many societies to examine the scope of human behavior and test hypotheses about human behavior and culture. Cross-cultural studies is the third form of...
  
  
• Anthropology
  Anthropology
  Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
  
  
• Origin of the Nilotic peoples
• Archaeology
  Archaeology
  Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
  
  
• Cross-cultural researcher
  Cross-cultural researcher
  A cross-cultural researcher is a type of ethnologist interested in discovering general patterns about cultural traits. This branch of anthropology investigates what is universal and variable among cultures, why traits vary, and what consequences come from the variations.Cross-cultural researchers...
  
  
• Human evolution
  Human evolution
  Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
  
  
• Genetics
  Genetics
  Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
  
  

External links

• The Centre for Genetic Anthropology Departments of Anthropology and of Biology, University College London