Traces of a Distant Past

Based on the choice from class - 1's read Does Race Exists, 2's read Founder Mutations, 3's readTraces of a Distant Past


Through various articles, videos, and texts, one of the key concepts leads back to every human on this earth being related to one another. In the Journey of a Man video, the narrator describes the world’s time machine as blood since it can take us back far and tell stories that have been lost through the years. This is proven when he travels all the way to Africa to visit isolated tribes in very desolate parts of the continent. When finally arriving to the village of the San people, it becomes apparent how they are possibly connected as the ancestors of every race on earth. The features on their faces contained distinct characteristics from every time of person. They had high European cheekbones, the nose and lips of many Africans, and the eyes typically seen in Asian people. These traits were very important indicators in the time the researches were studying this. Scientists had been already very interested in DNA and the molecular biology connecting people. However, they did not have the sufficient amount of research necessary to examine and compare various races and had to strictly rely on phenotypes.

            The study of human genetic variation dates back to WWI, when two physicians who were working in Greece, noticed that soldiers had different blood groups depending on their nationalities. Luigi Luca started formalizing the study of differences in genetics by examining very distinct blood group proteins. They began to prove the growing theory and showed the same differences in the blood coming from the genes that encoded them. In 1987, Rebecca L. Cann and Allan C., from UC Berkley, published a paper based on analyzing the DNA of mitochondria, which are the cell’s energy-producing organelles, which are passed down through maternal line. The two researchers reported that all humans from different populations descended from a single female living in Africa who lived about 200,000 years ago. After this discovery, scientists began researching mitochondria and the Y chromosome, which is passed down from father to son, more than ever. This turned up more genetics markers in the DNA than ever in the past. The National Geographic article then begins to explain the varying Y-chromosomes throughout the world and how they can be traced like interstates when traveling.