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Source: Yale University
Date: 2004-09-30
'Most Recent Common Ancestor' Of All Living Humans Surprisingly Recent
New Haven, Conn. -- In this week's issue of Nature, a Yale mathematician presents models showing that the most recent person who was a direct ancestor of all humans currently alive may have lived just a few thousand years ago.
"While we may not all be 'brothers,' the models suggest we are all hundredth cousins or so," ...
...
These more realistic models estimate that the most recent common ancestor of mankind lived as recently as about 3,000 years ago, and the identical ancestors point was as recent as several thousand years ago. The paper suggests, "No matter the languages we speak or the color of our skin, we share ancestors who planted rice on the banks of the Yangtze, who first domesticated horses on the steppes of the Ukraine, who hunted giant sloths in the forests of North and South America, and who labored to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu."
The results can also work backwards, into the future. According to Chang, "Within two thousand years, it is likely that everyone on earth will be descended from most of us."
The article on Nature's web site
Other articles of the same subject from the authors:
Article 1, article 2.
Source: Yale University
Date: 2004-09-30
'Most Recent Common Ancestor' Of All Living Humans Surprisingly Recent
New Haven, Conn. -- In this week's issue of Nature, a Yale mathematician presents models showing that the most recent person who was a direct ancestor of all humans currently alive may have lived just a few thousand years ago.
"While we may not all be 'brothers,' the models suggest we are all hundredth cousins or so," ...
...
These more realistic models estimate that the most recent common ancestor of mankind lived as recently as about 3,000 years ago, and the identical ancestors point was as recent as several thousand years ago. The paper suggests, "No matter the languages we speak or the color of our skin, we share ancestors who planted rice on the banks of the Yangtze, who first domesticated horses on the steppes of the Ukraine, who hunted giant sloths in the forests of North and South America, and who labored to build the Great Pyramid of Khufu."
The results can also work backwards, into the future. According to Chang, "Within two thousand years, it is likely that everyone on earth will be descended from most of us."
The article on Nature's web site
Other articles of the same subject from the authors:
Article 1, article 2.
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