DentArthurDent wrote:
Orwell wrote:
Mitochondrial DNA can be (and has been) traced back to one human female from whom all of us are descended.
Really? Got a link to a reputable source for this? It sounds a tad Adam and Eve! I was of the understranding that 'mitochondrial eve' referred to a reasonably large grouping of homo-sapien females as the species developed and migrated from East Africa.
Skafather posted a link. But I don't see how this is even surprising. All life is related. All humans and all chimpanzees share one common ancestor if you go back far enough in our history. Why the surprise that all humans have a common ancestor?
Within ethnic groups, inbreeding is often much more obvious, though this usually involves everyone being descended from a small number of males. I know several Muslims who are direct descendants of Muhammad—on both sides of their family. In some parts of Asia, basically everyone is descended from Genghis Khan. In Europe, there was a relatively small group of VIkings running around pillaging and raping who are the ancestors to most of today's northern Europeans.
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