Wait a minute . . . my brain may be bursting here . . . we’re all related to one another, every human today shares a common ancester . . . well, duh, that’s when the species was formed, the weird human mutation from whatever came before, right? What? Later than thate? Well after the species was going full steam? My brain is throbbing on this one . . . evidently the math holds out . . . Roots of Human Family Tree Are Shallow . . .

It is human nature to wonder about our ancestors – who they were, where they lived, what they were like. People trace their genealogy, collect antiques and visit historical sites hoping to capture just a glimpse of those who came before, to locate themselves in the sweep of history and position themselves in the web of human existence.

I have a big book of the Loftus family chock full of names of people I will never meet who are in some way related to me. My family tree goes back to at least seven European countries that I know of, two Amerindian tribes, and one tribe in Africa and perhaps more, much more. My daughter’s family tree becomes even more complex as she adds in my wife’s rich Asian heritage.

But few people realize just how intricately that web connects them not just to people living on the planet today, but to everyone who ever lived. With the help of a statistician, a computer scientist and a supercomputer, Olson has calculated just how interconnected the human family tree is. You would have to go back in time only 2,000 to 5,000 years – and probably on the low side of that range – to find somebody who could count every person alive today as a descendant.

This is the part that is breaking my brain . . . as recently as 1 CE but not past 3000 BCE, there was one person alive whose descendants include every single living person on the planet. Of course, every single living person on the planet also have ancestors who are different from one another but the entire web of everyone’s family tree includes this person at least somewhere in one – and often more – branches. As recently as all that and every Chinese, Australian Aborigine, Eskimo, Cherokee, Bantu, and Texas Redneck and the rest of us all share this one person in our ancestry. Koolness.

Furthermore, Olson and his colleagues have found that if you go back a little farther – about 5,000 to 7,000 years ago – everybody living today has exactly the same set of ancestors. In other words, every person who was alive at that time is either an ancestor to all 6 billion people living today, or their line died out and they have no remaining descendants.

This sounds weird but it makes sense, given the explanation. It also shows us that we’re a lot more closely related than we might have thought . . . or, in some cases, wished.

It’s a fascinating concept . . . the one-ness of the species so recent, not merely back in the time of Lucy or the like or that one genetic mutation that randomly became the human genome.

Sometimes science and math can be kool. Won’t make an iota of difference in terms of how we see ourselves and it won’t bring world peace and stop the idiocy that is genocide but it is kool nonetheless and for those of us looking for excuses to love our neighbors as brothers – as if an excuse is ever really needed – it’s quite the nifty concept.

Thanks to Erick for the headsup.

All the best,
Brian