Ancestor
hideAn ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, and so forth).
Two individuals have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other, or if they share a common ancestor. In evolutionary theory, species which share an evolutionary ancestor are said to be of common descent. However, this concept of ancestry does not apply to some bacteria and other organisms capable of horizontal gene transfer.
Assuming that all of an individual's ancestors are otherwise unrelated to each other, that individual has 2n ancestors in the nth generation before him and a total of about 2g+1 ancestors in the g generations before him. In practice, however, it is clear that the vast majority of ancestors of humans (and indeed any other species) are multiply related (see Pedigree collapse). Consider n = 40: the human species is surely more than 40 generations old, yet the number 240, approximately 1012 or one trillion, dwarfs the number of humans that have ever lived.
Ignoring the possibility of other inter-relationships (even distant ones) among ancestors, an individual has a total of 2046 ancestors up to the 10th generation, 1024 of which are 10th generation ancestors. With the same assumption, any given person has over a billion 30th generation ancestors (who lived roughly 1000 years ago) and this theoretical number increases past the estimated total population of the world in around AD 1000. (All of these ancestors will have contributed to one's autosomal DNA is concerned: this excludes Y-chromosomal DNA and mitochondrial DNA.)
Some cultures confer reverence to ancestors, both living and dead; in contrast, some more youth-oriented cultural contexts display less veneration of elders. In other cultural contexts, some people seek providence from their deceased ancestors; this practice is sometimes known as ancestor worship or, more accurately, ancestor veneration.
For more information about Ancestor, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with ancestor
Ancient Lemurs Take Bite Out of Evolutionary Tree (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- About 40 miles outside Cairo, Egypt, National Science Foundation-supported paleontologists from three American universities are revealing features of a newly discovered African primate and ...
Evolution axe goes on display
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A flint hand axe that helped reveal the very ancient age of humankind goes on display at the Natural History Museum October 2009.
Before 'Lucy,' there was 'Ardi': Oldest hominid skeleton provides new evidence for human evolution (w/ Video)
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 01, 2009 |
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In a special issue of Science, an international team of scientists has for the first time thoroughly described Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiop ...
New genetic research indicates Jewish priesthood has multiple lineages
Sep 24, 2009 |
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Recent research on the Cohen Y chromosome indicates the Jewish priesthood, the Cohanim, was established by several unrelated male lines rather than a single male lineage dating to ancient Hebrew times.
Research team finds first evolutionary branching for bilateral animals
Sep 23, 2009 |
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When it comes to understanding a critical junction in animal evolution, some short, simple flatworms have been a real thorn in scientists' sides. Specialists have jousted over the proper taxonomic placement ...
We are all mutants: Measurement of mutation rate in humans by direct sequencing
Aug 27, 2009 |
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An international team of 16 scientists today reports the first direct measurement of the general rate of genetic mutation at individual DNA letters in humans. The team sequenced the same piece of DNA - 10,000,000 or so letters ...
The peopling of the Americas: Genetic ancestry influences health
Aug 14, 2009 |
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At one time or another most of us wonder where we came from, where our parents or grandparents and their parents came from. Did our ancestors come from Europe or Asia? As curious as we are about our ancestors, for practical ...
Scientists find a common link of bird flocks, breast milk and trust
Aug 13, 2009 |
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What do flocks of birds have in common with trust, monogamy, and even breast milk? According to a new report in the journal Science, they are regulated by virtually identical neurochemicals in the brain, known ...
Neanderthals wouldn't have eaten their sprouts either
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 12, 2009 |
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Spanish researchers say they're a step closer to resolving a "mystery of evolution" -- why some people like Brussels sprouts but others hate them.
Bipedal humans came down from the trees, not up from the ground (w/ Video)
Aug 10, 2009 |
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A detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor.
Researchers soak up stem cell potential
Jul 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite its seemingly simple appearance, the humble sea sponge could have the ability to advance stem cell research, according to scientists working at UQ's Heron Island Research Station and the St Lucia ...
The secret jungles of ancient France
Jul 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ah, Paris. Land of the Eiffel Tower, delicious French bread and... tropical rainforests? Sacrebleu! It seems unlikely, but scientists have discovered evidence that France may have been a hot, wet tropical ...
Surprising new insights into the repair strategies of DNA
Jul 15, 2009 |
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(Physorg.com) -- A microscopic single-celled organism, adapted to survive in some of the harshest environments on earth, could help scientists gain a better understanding of how cancer cells behave.
Research suggests core nuclear pore elements shared by all eukaryotes
Jul 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For perhaps 1.8 billion years after life first emerged on Earth, a sort of evolutionary writer’s block stalled the development of organisms more complicated than single cells. Then, a burst of experimental ...
New fossil primate suggests common Asian ancestor, challenges primates such as 'Ida'
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jul 01, 2009 |
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According to new research published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences) on July 1, 2009, a new fossil primate from Myanmar (previously known as Burma) suggests that the co ...
