The stage in the reproductive process in which sperm and egg cells are formed. During meiosis, the autosomal chromosomes recombine and mutations may occur.

Aboriginal means relating to a group of people native to a geographic region. These are the original inhabitants of a region.

Adenine is one of the four bases that make up our DNA. It is abbreviated “A.” The other bases are thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). Adenine always pairs with thymine.

An administrator is someone who is in charge. The group projects at Family Tree DNA are run by unpaid volunteer administrators.

Admixture refers to ancestry from more than one recent population group. Many people today have ancestry from more than one population and/or location.

An allele is a genetic variant at a specific point, locus, in our genetic code.

American Indian is the popular term for the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. These are the descendants of the early settlers in North and South America.

See: DNA Amplification

An ancestor is someone from whom you descend. For example, your grandparents are your ancestors.

Anthrogenealogy is the study of human origins, recent and distant, using both DNA testing and genealogy.