+static int get_nth_ancestor(const char *name, int len,
+ unsigned char *result, int generation)
+{
+ unsigned char sha1[20];
+ int ret = get_sha1_1(name, len, sha1);
+ if (ret)
+ return ret;
+
+ while (generation--) {
+ struct commit *commit = lookup_commit_reference(sha1);
+
+ if (!commit || parse_commit(commit) || !commit->parents)
+ return -1;
+ memcpy(sha1, commit->parents->item->object.sha1, 20);
+ }
+ memcpy(result, sha1, 20);
+ return 0;
+}
+