The hope of the New Mexico DNA Project is to better understand the history of New Mexico and its descendants within the last 420 years.  The Project Administrator is a history professor and an expert paleographer of Spanish documents who has done extensive research in both the archives of New Mexico and Mexico on the study of New Mexico family history.  In addition to advanced Genetic Genealogy, the DNA Project will use two other pioneering fields of study that expand our knowledge of our personal family history.  The project will use both Geographic Genetic Genealogy and Anthropological Genetic Genealogy/History in the analysis of DNA samples.

The New Mexico DNA Project will cover the colonial expeditions of New Mexico by the Spanish in 1598 and 1693, by the Mexicans in 1821, and by the Americans in 1848. The New Mexico DNA Project will encompass not only Hispanics, but also Anglo-Americans who have come to New Mexico. 

In the years just after the Conquest of the New World, the Native-American population was decimated by disease and war, leaving a relatively small gene pool of Native-American, Spanish, French, and English ancestors.

DNA studies on Hispanics show a higher European admixture. *Anthropologist Andrew Merriwether and colleagues conducted a study on Hispanics living in Colorado. Using classic genetic markers they estimated an admixture of 67% European and 33% Native-American.

He further tested their mitochondrial DNA (mtdna) which is a test to find the origins of your great, great...grandmother, going back 10's of thousands of years. This one ancestor which is your families "Eve" so to speak, showed up as Native-American 85% of the time and European in origin 15% of the time. Thus showing that the majority of unions in this admixture were of European males and Native-American females.