Welcome to the Stamper DNA Project! Stampers of all spelling variations are encouraged to join this project. In order to participate in this one-name study, you must provide the Stamper DNA Project with four pieces of information: (1) The name of the person being tested. (2) A family pedigree chart (or GEDCOM) showing your patrilineal lineage, if known. (3) The name, date and place of birth of your oldest known direct paternal ancestor, along with any other pertinent information. (4) Permission to publish your Y-DNA results along with the name, date and place of birth of your oldest known patrilineal ancestor (at minimum). FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) offers three types of DNA testing: Y-DNA, mtDNA, and atDNA. For the purposes of this surname project, only Y-DNA will be considered. Y-DNA is passed from father to son via the Y-chromosome virtually unchanged, except for slight variations called mutations which occur (on average) ever so many generations. There are two types of mutations: STRs and SNPs. These variations act as a kind of "genetic signature" which when combined with a solid paper trail, can prove indispensable to genealogical research, as well as shedding light on your deep paternal ancestry. The most in depth Y-DNA test offered by FTDNA is the Big Y-500 which examines both STRs and SNPs. If you're not interested in the Big Y-500, then you can choose from among 12, 25, 37, 67, or 111 STR marker tests. The more STR markers you test, the more refined the results. The Y-DNA 37 test is the recommended minimum. You also have the option to upgrade your level of testing at anytime. Contact the admins for suggestions on which test is right for you! While females cannot participate directly because they do not have Y-DNA, they can still help by encouraging their male STAMPER relatives (i.e. father, brother, uncle, cousin, etc.) to participate in this project and thereby trace their surname line. If you have not yet purchased a DNA test kit or would like instructions on how to collect your DNA sample, please visit: https://www.familytreedna.com/dna-test-kit.aspx If you would like additional information on the whole DNA process and how to interpret your results, please visit: https://www.familytreedna.com/understanding-dna.aspx This project was founded in 2004 at FamilyTreeDNA. Please visit us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/groups/stamperdna/ Age of Stamper Patriline SNPs: M269 = circa 4500 BC U106 = circa 3100 BC BY11501 = circa 2600 BC BY11506 = circa 1200 BC BY50723 = circa 600 AD BY152352 = circa 1690 AD