# Mitochondrial Eve **Domain:** Human Evolution / Population Genetics **Doc Type:** Canonical Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Mitochondrial Eve** is the most recent woman from whom all living humans inherit their mitochondrial DNA through an unbroken maternal line. She was not the first woman, the only woman alive, or the sole ancestor of living humanity. ## Historical Context Rebecca Cann, Mark Stoneking and Allan Wilson's 1987 _Nature_ paper used mitochondrial variation to argue for a recent African origin of modern human maternal lineages. Estimates have since been refined as samples and models improved. [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] treats the work as a Berkeley landmark in computational ancestry. Its conceptual importance lies in extracting a population genealogy from present-day sequence, not in producing a single literal mother of the species. ## Continuity Context Common ancestry demonstrates how many people can descend from one lineage without being copies or continuations of one person. It sharply separates genealogical persistence from personal identity. ## Sources / Provenance - Cann, Stoneking and Wilson, “Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution,” _Nature_ 325 (1987): https://www.nature.com/articles/325031a0 ## See Also [[wiki/Molecular Clock|Molecular Clock]], [[wiki/Haplogroup|Haplogroup]], [[wiki/Population Genetics|Population Genetics]], [[wiki/Descent vs Derivation|Descent vs Derivation]]