The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic AncestryThe national bestseller that reveals how we are descended from seven prehistoric women. In 1994 Bryan Sykes was called in as an expert to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy for over 5000 years—the Ice Man. Sykes succeeded in extracting DNA from the Ice Man, but even more important, writes Science News, was his "ability to directly link that DNA to Europeans living today." In this groundbreaking book, Sykes reveals how the identification of a particular strand of DNA that passes unbroken through the maternal line allows scientists to trace our genetic makeup all the way back to prehistoric times—to seven primeval women, the "seven daughters of Eve." |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 3 | |
So What is DNA and What Does It Do? | 22 |
From Blood Groups to Genes | 32 |
The Special Messenger | 52 |
The Tsar and I | 63 |
The Puzzle of the Pacific | 79 |
The Greatest Voyagers | 96 |
Adam Joins the Party | 185 |
The Seven Daughters | 195 |
Ursula | 202 |
Xenia | 213 |
Helena | 221 |
Velda | 234 |
Tara | 243 |
Katrine | 252 |
Common terms and phrases
Africa America amino-acids ancestry animals Anna Anderson antler Arthur Mourant Asia baby band Basques began bison blood group bone camp cave cell nucleus cells Cheddar child Chris chromosomes clan mother clusters coast common ancestor control region Cro-Magnon daughter deer descendants DNA sequence East Erika Europe evidence evolutionary farmers father fossil genes genetic going hair hamsters happened Helena Homo erectus Homo sapiens human evolution hundred hunter–gatherers hunters hunting Ice Age Iceman inherited island Jasmine Katrine keratin knew land Lapita living looked match maternal ancestors mitochondrial DNA mitochondrial DNA sequences modern Europeans modern humans molecular clock molecules Mourant mutation rate mutations native Neanderthals Nguna original Pacific Palaeolithic past piece Polynesians population protein Rarotonga recombination Rhesus Romanovs samples South spear species stone Tara Tara’s thalassaemia thousand years ago trace trees Tsar Tsar’s tundra Ursula Velda wild women Xenia Y-chromosome