Are all of us humans related to one another?

Question

Meaning do we have the same ancestors?

Answer 1

If you could trace everyone's DNA back far enough (say, 3 to 6 million years), you'd see the answer is yes. But of course the creationists will say the same thing -- except it was Adam and Eve, only 6,000 years ago...

Answer 2

I agree with the scientific responses here about the single African woman and the mitochondiral DNA. Also, I belive, that mathematically, it just adds up. The world today has over 6 billion people. At the time of Jesus, the world had about 2 million. Some time before that, it was even fewer people than that. But, lets just use the 2 million in the time of Christ. In order for 2 million people to make 6 billion people, I think then, mathematically, we all HAVE to be related, even if only very distantly. In my family tree alone, I have found multiple instances where I descend from the same person in different brances of my tree from both sides of my tree. That can only mean that the people between that person and me were marrying distant cousins, and some not-so-distant cousins. Going back far enough, my tree has even crossed paths with my own husband's family tree. Mind you we did not know this before we married, and the relation is too distant to count, but the connections are there. The same holds true for my mom and dad, and even for my grandparents. In each generation, I have found instances where the family trees crossed paths. I think this will hold true for anybody who can go back far enough. Sometimes I like to tease my husband and say that our tree is short a few branches, but we have a strong, solid trunk!

Answer 3

Steve Olson in a 2002 Atlantic Monthly article, entitled "The Royal We," concludes that everyone in the world is descended from Nefertiti and Confucius and that all Europeans are descended from Muhammad and Charlemagne.

Looking back, each of us in ten generations has 1024 great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents. Accordingly, "our" most recent common ancestor lived between 2,000 and 5,000 years ago, and the Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomed Adam of everyone living today lived between 140,00 and 60,000 years ago respectively.

Answer 4

According to a Discovery Channel show called "The Real Eve" (at the Discovery Channel store for $9.95 on dvd), every person is related to ONE woman in Africa through our mitochondrial DNA (abbreviated as mtDNA). The discovery of the so-called "Eve gene" a few years ago makes us all related to this one particular woman. The show first aired in or about 2002.

Answer 5

Since there are last names or clan names thats been around since the middle ages and before, and since lots of people look like each other, im under the assumption we are all related. Well there are 6.5 billion people now, back then there were a few million here and there. So yea...but im not a professional...

Answer 6

Bible stories aside...

Yes. We all ultimately descended from one African couple. But most of us have much more recent connections. About one quarter of the world's people can trace their heritage to Genghis Khan, and another quarter to Charlemagne. Be nice if we all started treating each other like family.

Answer 7

Absolutely. Adam and Eve.

Answer 8

believe it or not we are descendents of adam and eve. at least that is what our holy bible tells us and i am trusting our lord and savior to guide me to believe this. so i guess my answer is yes we are all related...

Answer 9

NATURALY GO BACK FAR ENOUGH AND YOU WILL FIND YOUR ROOTS ALL END AT THAT SAME PLACE---ADAM AND EVE . I'M NO BIBLE TOATER,,BUT I KNOW WHERE I CAME FROM. THAT WAS AN EASY QUESTION TO ANSWER ,,,, FOR ME

Answer 10

we all came from somewhere. and if you go by Bible then yes except for those people that came from nowhere that their decendents married.