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People who start genealogy projects to learn the history of their families often can go back several generations until they eventually hit a “brick wall, where they enter this dark mysterious realm we call history,” said Geneticist Spencer Wells on Monday in Thousand Oaks.

By taking the DNA of people throughout the world for a research project he is directing, Wells said new knowledge is being gained about the migratory history of the human species that goes way beyond what genealogy research can find.

Wells said participants are still needed for the Genographic Project, a five-year genetic anthropology study launched by the National Geographic Society and IBM and includes a team of renowned international scientists.

Wells spoke about The Genographic Project during his appearance Monday as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series of California, which brings newsmakers and international personalities to Thousand Oaks, as well as Pasadena and Redondo Beach.

Wells, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, told the audience Monday that all humans today descend from a group of African ancestors who migrated to other areas about 60,000 years ago.

Wells said the origin of humans have traditionally been studied through paleoanthropology and the study of skull shapes.

“While it gives us lots of fascinating possibilities, it doesn’t really give us the probabilities about the direct line of descent that we’re really looking for as scientists,” said Wells. “Instead of going out and digging things up from the past and guessing how they may be directly related to the present, we start in the present and work our way back to the past with the genealogical approach,” Wells said.

Wells said things such as the colonization of distant lands, pandemics and wars have all left marks on the genetic record, and by mapping the appearance and frequency of the genetic markers of modern people, a picture can be created about when and where ancient humans moved around the world.

Wells said his team is using sophisticated laboratory and computer analysis of DNA from hundreds of thousands of participants from around the world “allowing researchers to see beyond the brick wall into our history.”

Some of the data is coming from indigenous and traditional people around the world, but researchers want a complete history of mankind and encourage participation by the general public, said Wells.

Those interested in participating in the study can purchase a kit on the project’s Web site and take a simple and painless cheek swab of their DNA and submit it to the lab. The results for each person will reveal a participants deep ancestry along a single line of either paternal or maternal descent and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Participants can access their results on the Web site.

Wells said the study will either confirm the expectation of the participant’s deep ancestry, but some people may be surprised to learn a new story about their genetic background,

Money from the purchase of the Genographic Project kit will go to further field research and the Genographic Legacy Fund, which supports indigenous conservation and revitalization projects.