Search for Adam

I've just watched an interesting programme on National Georgraphic entitled the Search for Adam.

Men inherit their Y chromosome from their dad. It's passed on from father to son with an occassional mutation. The idea is that by looking at the genetic profile of men from around the world comparing various known mutations, it might be possible to find a scientific 'Adam'.

'By analyzing genetic changes in the Y-chromosome of people in all regions of the world, Wells and colleagues concluded that all humans alive today are descended from a single African man.
"We're all effectively cousins, separated by 2,000 generations," [Spencer Wells] said.'

In our past, apparently humankind was close to extinction. It is believed at one point our population was very small indeed and why we were able to recover is open to conjecture. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps imminent extinction is the mother of evolution! :o)

But because of this, there was a relatively small pool of genes from which we are all descended.

A similar project has been carried out using mitochondrial DNA which is passed through the female line. It is proposed that we all have seven ultimate grandmothers.

It is not to say that there was only one man and a few women, as clearly there were more. But these people produced lines that did not die out. They had sufficient healthy offspring to ensure the continued survival of their family and we are all descendants of that super family.

Words such as british, white, innuit, african, black, oriental, etc ... they are just descriptive words but have no real meaning. We are tribal beings who for some reason feel the need to categorise and distinguish between "us" and "them" - perhaps it's something to do with ancient base survival and mating instincts?

But what this research does make clear is this - not only are we all members of the species Homo Sapiens but, more than that, we are all members of the same family.

Happy Journeys