The Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis

The Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis suggests that all modern humans trace their maternal ancestry back to a woman who lived roughly 150,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa. This isn’t to say she was the only woman alive at her time, but rather that her mitochondrial DNA—the genetic material passed from mother to child—has been inherited by everyone alive today. Over generations, lineage from other women died out or mixed, leaving her as the most recent common maternal ancestor for all humans. This helps scientists understand human evolution and migration patterns.