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Article: Mother dear, you're prehistoric; genealogy Everyone with European roots is directly related to one of seven women living thousands of years ago. On the eve of Mothering Sunday, Laura Davis searches for the leader of her Ice Age clan.(Features)
- Article from:
- Daily Post (Liverpool, England)
- Article date:
- March 1, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 MGN Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Laura Davis
THERE are many things my mum has given me - a happy home life, a love of books, lifts to music lessons, brown hair, a beautiful art deco lamp - but neither of us were aware until just recently that she had given me a link to my distant ancestors.
A tiny piece of genetic material, know as mitochrondrial DNA, that is contained in each one of her cells can also be found in each of mine. It is also inside each of the cells that make up my sister's body, and those of my aunts and female cousins on my maternal family tree.
It has been passed down the chain from mother to daughter for hundreds of generations, and if I have female ...