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I don't think the difference you're talking about is real. "Eve" is mitochondrial Eve, the most recent direct female-line ancestor-- the first human every woman

by Cushman 14y ago

I don't think the difference you're talking about is real. "Eve" is mitochondrial Eve, the most recent direct female-line ancestor-- the first human every woman can say was her mother's mother's mother's et cetera. There's a corresponding Y-chromosomal Adam; they probably lived 100-200,000 years ago, but not at the same time. But of course if you're descended from her, you're descended from her parents, and her mate's parents too; nobody came from just one person. Each one out of our millions of common ancestors is an Adam or Eve by the popular definition: Every human being alive is descended from them. If they had not conceived, no one currently alive would exist. There was never a biblically singular Adam and Eve.

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
So, the first person who was the MRCA-with female lineage only, ie the earliest woman who was the female ancestor of all living people, was 100,000 years ago. But the earliest ancestor (female / male / mixed lineage) was only 3000 years ago. (i.e. the first, had to have daughters only, the second, more recent could have daughter then grandson then great-grandson etc) So, 3000 years before we can say anyone definitely was the ancestor of all, and there would be a lot of them. And 100,000 years before its female lineage. Then pretty much everyone is a common ancestor, back to plankton. And Dinosaurs!
- Retric 14y ago
  More or less, except 3000 years ago travel was far more of an issue. But, somewhere in the ~2,500-30,000 years it's probably true. Also, with a population of 1 million people a female line 'wining' is much more likely than with a ~6 billion people population that probably will not happen again for a vary long time without some awesome mutation.
nollidge 14y ago
> the first human every woman can say was her... I think that's a typo, should be: "...first woman every human...". All of us have Mitochondrial Eve as our matrilineal MRCA, not just those with two X chromosomes.
- Cushman 14y ago
  Yeah, good catch. I was hoping no one would notice that goof :)

by Cushman 14y ago

lifeisstillgood 14y ago

So, the first person who was the MRCA-with female lineage only, ie the earliest woman who was the female ancestor of all living people, was 100,000 years ago. But the earliest ancestor (female / male / mixed lineage) was only 3000 years ago. (i.e. the first, had to have daughters only, the second, more recent could have daughter then grandson then great-grandson etc) So, 3000 years before we can say anyone definitely was the ancestor of all, and there would be a lot of them. And 100,000 years before its female lineage. Then pretty much everyone is a common ancestor, back to plankton. And Dinosaurs!

Retric 14y ago
More or less, except 3000 years ago travel was far more of an issue. But, somewhere in the ~2,500-30,000 years it's probably true. Also, with a population of 1 million people a female line 'wining' is much more likely than with a ~6 billion people population that probably will not happen again for a vary long time without some awesome mutation.

nollidge 14y ago

> the first human every woman can say was her... I think that's a typo, should be: "...first woman every human...". All of us have Mitochondrial Eve as our matrilineal MRCA, not just those with two X chromosomes.

Cushman 14y ago
Yeah, good catch. I was hoping no one would notice that goof :)