The Mystery of Mitochondrial Eve: Tracing Humanity’s Ancient Ancestry

In 1987, a study by Cann, Stoneking, and Wilson proposed that all mitochondrial DNA traces back to a single woman, dubbed “Mitochondrial Eve,” who lived in Africa 200,000 years ago. This discovery supported the "Out of Africa" theory, challenging previous beliefs about human evolution. Mitochondrial DNA, passed only through the mother, helps trace human ancestry through maternal lineage. Mitochondrial Eve is not the first woman, but the most recent common maternal ancestor of all living humans.

Mitochondrial Eve: A Groundbreaking Discovery

In 1987, a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature sparked intense interest and controversy. The study, led by Rebecca L. Cann, Mark Stoneking, and their doctoral advisor Allan Wilson at the University of California, Berkeley, claimed that “all mitochondrial DNA stems from one woman,” who lived in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. This groundbreaking paper has since remained a topic of debate.

Clarifying the Concept of Mitochondrial Eve

The authors referred to the analyzed samples as “mitochondrial DNA,” but the media coined the term “mitochondrial Eve,” which, while memorable, has been frequently misunderstood. Unlike the biblical Eve, who is often seen as the first woman, Mitochondrial Eve was not the only woman alive at the time. Furthermore, while the Bible suggests humanity’s age is only a few thousand years, the research proposed a much older timeline of 200,000 years. The study also challenged the prevailing belief among many evolutionists, who thought that humans evolved in various regions simultaneously. Instead, it supported the “Out of Africa” theory, suggesting that Anatomically Modern Humans originated in Africa and later migrated globally.

Mitochondrial DNA vs. Nuclear DNA

Cann and her team focused on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), not nuclear DNA (nDNA). Nuclear DNA is responsible for traits like eye color, racial characteristics, and certain disease susceptibilities. In contrast, mtDNA only codes for proteins and other mitochondrial functions. While nDNA is inherited from both parents through recombination, mtDNA is passed down almost exclusively from the mother, with minimal or no contribution from the father’s sperm. This maternal inheritance pattern allows closely related individuals to have nearly identical mtDNA, with only occasional mutations over millennia. These mutations help estimate the time since a common ancestor’s divergence.

The Concept of Mitochondrial Eve

Proponents of the Mitochondrial Eve theory clarify that she was not the first woman nor the only woman of her time. They propose that a catastrophic event dramatically reduced Earth’s population to around 10,000–20,000 individuals. Among these, only Eve maintained an unbroken maternal lineage. Thus, she is considered the most recent common ancestor from whom all living humans descend.

Adam and Eve, completed after 1536 by the German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Younger (1515–1586).