HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom one is descended. In law, the person from whom an estate has been inherited." Two individuals have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other or if they share a common ancestor. In
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary theory, species which share an evolutionary ancestor are said to be of common descent. However, this concept of ancestry does not apply to some
bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...
and other organisms capable of horizontal gene transfer. Some research suggests that the average person has twice as many female ancestors as male ancestors. This might have been due to the past prevalence of polygynous relations and female hypergamy. Assuming that all of an individual's ancestors are otherwise unrelated to each other, that individual has 2''n'' ancestors in the ''n''th generation before her/him and a total of 2''g''+1 − 2 ancestors in the ''g'' generations before him/her. In practice, however, it is clear that most ancestors of humans (and any other species) are multiply related (see
pedigree collapse In genealogy, pedigree collapse describes how reproduction between two individuals who share an ancestor causes the number of distinct ancestors in the family tree of their offspring to be smaller than it could otherwise be. Robert C. Gunderson ...
). Consider ''n'' = 40: the human species is more than 40 generations old, yet the number 240, approximately 1012 or one trillion, dwarfs the
number of humans who have ever lived This article lists current estimates of the world population in history. In summary, estimates for the progression of world population since the Late Middle Ages are in the following ranges: Estimates for pre-modern times are necessarily fraug ...
. Some cultures confer reverence to ancestors, both living and dead; in contrast, some more youth-oriented cultural contexts display less veneration of elders. In other cultural contexts, some people seek
providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
from their deceased ancestors; this practice is sometimes known as '' ancestor worship'' or, more accurately, ''
ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
''.


See also

* Archaic humans * Collateral descendant *
Consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...
* DNA **
Lysosomal DNA A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that can break down many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane pro ...
** Mitochondrial DNA * Ethnic group * Family *
Genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
* Genetic genealogy * Kinship * Lineage (anthropology) * Lineal descendant * Most recent common ancestor * Progenitor


Citations


External links


United States Census Bureau
{{Authority control Kinship and descent