Genetics of 'Adam' and 'Eve'

[swestrup]

If you trace back the mitochondrial descent of humans, you discover that we all share the mitochondria of a woman who lived 160,000 years ago: the 'Mitochondrial Eve'. If you trace the Y chromosome back through the generations, you get a 'Chromosonal Adam' who lived just 60,000 years ago. In trying to explain this time discrepancy, it turns out that the easiest model that explains the data is that historically, most men have had children with multiple females. Thus, it appears that polygyny has been around a very long time.

A more complete article on the subject is here.