The Seven Daughters of Eve

This book fascinated me because I am not only a historian but a genealogist. I have a photograph of my maternal line great-great-great-grandmother dating from about 1841 which I love because she bears a strong resemblance to my grandmother and others of her descendants whom I have known. Now the knowledge that I have her mitochondrial DNA makes me recognize that there is a strong link between us, even though she died nearly 100 years before I was born. I plan to have my own DNA tested so that I can learn which of the seven Eves was my own distant grandmother


How genetic knowledge is rewriting the prehistory   February 22, 2002
Dennis Littrell (SoCal)
32 out of 40 found this review helpful

This is a popular book of scientific discovery written in an affecting and engaging style by a geneticist who has the all too rare gift of writing extremely readable prose.

Professor Bryan Sykes draws the reader into his story as easily as a best-selling novelist. And this is just the "science" part of the book which lasts for fourteen chapters. Then come the fictional chapters about the seven daughters and their imagined stories, so touching and so full of the very human struggle to survive in the prehistory that I could not read them without misting up. (But then I tend to the sentimental.)

Sykes begins with the story of how he was able to identify a living descendant of the five-thousand year old "ice man" found in northern Italy in 1994 by comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences. Mitochondrial DNA is contained only in egg cells (thus, "Eve" and her daughters), not in sperm cells, and transmitted without recombination so that the changes are all the result of mutations that occur at a predictable rate over time. Then he tells the story of how the bodies of the murdered Romanovs, the last of the Russian Tsarist families, were identified through DNA fingerprinting. Both of these stories are more about media events and ventures in forensics than original scientific work. But then comes the story of where the Pacific Islanders originated.

When I was young I read the engaging story of Thor Heyerdahl in his book Kon-Tiki in which he attempted to prove that the Polynesians originated in the Americas by sailing west into the Pacific. This beguiling theory is demolished once and for all by the DNA evidence that Sykes presents. He shows that the Polynesians were originally from Southeast Asia and made all their great ocean discoveries by sailing against the prevailing winds, going east toward the Americas.

Sykes notes that because this was the prevailing scientific opinion his work met with mostly agreement. However when he and other geneticists were able to show that the current population of Europe is mainly descended from the original hunters and gathers that lived there prior to the arrival of the farmers who brought agriculture from the Middle East roughly ten thousand years ago, they ran into resistence. The prevailing scientific opinion was that the farmers overwhelmed the hunters and that most of today's Europeans are descended from those farmers. Sykes relates the story of the scientific controversy and how the genetic proof finally prevailed against entrenched opinion. Incidentally, to me the intriguing thing about this discovery is the question, not addressed in the book: What, if any, conclusions can we draw from the fact that 80% of our European genes came from hunters and gathers and only 20% from Middle Eastern farmers?

There is also the story of the "Cheddar Man" and how Sykes learned to extract DNA from the bones of people dead tens of thousands of years. Finally there is his argument for all people of European descent coming from just seven women who lived ten thousand to forty thousand years ago, the so-called, "Seven Daughters of Eve." (World-wide Sykes identifies 33 "daughters of Eve.")

To round out the book, Sykes writes an imaginative chapter about each one of the seven daughters. Here is where some readers are displeased, claiming that Sykes's imaginings are unscientific and even slanted. One reader complained about the men out hunting and the women remaining behind in caves as a kind of stereotype that has been overcome. But remember Sykes is writing in six cases out of seven about European peoples who made their living primarily from hunting during the ice ages, not from gathering. Think about how much "gathering" the Inuit do and you can see why he emphasized hunting. In the seventh case, about Jasmine, whom he sees as being from the birthplace of agriculture in modern Syria, his story is different. Indeed he has Jasmine and her non-hunting mate inventing agriculture! I might also point out for those who skimmed the "daughters of Eve" chapters, that he also has a woman playing a major part in the invention of water-going craft.

If I were to criticize this book I would say he was too generous in his depiction of human beings in the prehistory. He describes their lives as hunters and gathers, their hardships and their short and difficult lives with an emphasis on their humanity and how that helped them to survive. He downplays any part humans may have had in the extinction of the Neanderthal. He relates no rapes or murders or tribal wars, and de-emphasizes tribal sexism. He shows the beginnings of trade and cooperation. The result is so warm and touching I'm surprised that Stephen Spielberg hasn't taken out an option on the book. (Maybe he has!)

Finally, this is not an academic tome. It is a popular science book meant for educated lay persons. There are no learned academics writing glowing blurbs on the cover. Most academics would be afraid to write a book like this because of the imaginative chapters which are quasi-scientific and can be so easily criticized.

In short Professor Sykes is a tremendously engaging writer (with guts) who happens to be a world-class scientist. His goal was to communicate something about what he has learned to a wide readership, and I think he did a good job. If you can read this book without feeling better about humanity, maybe you should read it again.


My mutating mitochondrial grandmother   August 26, 2001
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

Genetic research is where all the science headlines are being made. If you are one of the scientists making the headlines - good for you. If you are able to write well, and can make your subject accessible to the layman, and do so with humor, all the better. So it is with Bryan Sykes and THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE. This is the sort of book that probably drives equally qualified, but dry-boring-subject and less-literary-talented scientists green with envy. This book is a genuine can't-put-down science thriller. The substantive subject of this book is the genetic ancestry of Europeans, specifically Sykes' contention that 90% of Europeans can trace their maternal ancestry back some tens of thousands of years to one of seven women, the most ancient of which lived 45,000 years ago. In taking us on a trip backwards to meet our great-grandmothers (thousands of times removed) he reveals some very interesting tidbits such as: > The ancient Iceman found in a glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991 was proven to be of European origin, and no hoax. Sykes also made the first of his headlines by stating that Iceman had relatives currently alive and well in England. He produced one of these persons - Marie X - for the press, and was able to prove from his large database of DNA, that there was an "unbroken genetic link between Marie and the Iceman's mother stretching back over 5,000 years and faithfully recorded in the DNA". > Sykes has established almost to a certainty, that the bones found outside Ekaterinburg, Russia, in 1991 are in fact those of Czar Nicholas II and his family. > He also says that Polynesians came from Southeast Asia, rather than from South America. This not only disproves a long held belief, but because this journey is against the prevailing currents and winds, makes them some of history's best sailors. Interesting as they are, these are merely samples of what his DNA work is capable of. The real interest in the book is in his research on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and how its unique characteristics assist in determining ancestry. Mitochondria are organelles within cells that provide energy to the cell; sometimes referred to as "the fire within" they possess their own DNA - mtDNA. Unlike chromosomal DNA, mtDNA is not "mixed" (half from the male and half from the female) during reproduction; mtDNA is passed down from the mother only and passed on unchanged - with one exception - at certain points in time mtDNA mutates. These harmless mutations are not random but occur at specific and infrequent intervals (once every 10,000 years). They are passed down through suceeding generations and act as genetic markers of common ancestry. By looking at differences between mtDNA in living persons (Sykes has a vast collection, and is constantly looking to add to it; readers can send samples to the address provided...or Not!) and comparing it to samples from archaelogical specimens, Sykes is able to trace ancestry. This is what he did in order to come up with both the seven daughters (representing seven clans of European ancestry) and Eve herself (she came from a small human population group in Africa). This book touches on all the current topics in human origins and genetics. The debates about whether genetic variation is greater within a group or between groups; the genetic basis for races; the "Out of Africa" theory on the origins of man. If any of this is of interest to you, Sykes is more than willing to share his opinions with you, and he does so in a lucid and very readable manner.


The signature of deep time   September 14, 2001
John Landon (NYC, NY United States)
5 out of 10 found this review helpful

This vivid account brings home the revolutionary implications of the new findings in genetics applied to mitochondrial DNA and its invariant traces travelling in a cellular time machine to our present. Beginning with the discovery and analysis of the Alpine man, the author takes us through the detective work and analysis of a series of enigmas now resolvable in the laboratory, from the origins of the inhabitants of the Cook islands, to the differences of Cro-Magon and the Neanderthal and the relationship of hunter-gatherers to farmers. The book traces the genes of modern Europeans to seven Eves or clan mothers, telling their tale in a series of charmingly whimsical snapshots. This epic told induces a fine sense of man's genetic unity as man, even as his mutational clock is ticking to record his journey. The author also brings in a strong case against racist conceptions of man, as the mitochondrial signature is found to pop up in the strangest of corners of a global mixture. Fascinating saga I found hard to put down.


Highly readable account of the flow of population, not always scientific, but excellent overall   September 25, 2005
A. Woodley (New Zealand)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

I can see why some people object to Sykes' book, "Seven Daughters of Eve". Towards the end he flows into what can only be described as a mini 'clan of the cave bear' - with 7 novellettes being written. Yet this is a small part of what is overall an enormously readable and fascinating book.

This book is a dual journey - the story of his research into Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) , which starts with the discovery of the iceman in the alps in 1991 and the parallel journey in which he traces some of the genetic lines of various peoples through the world, proving - and at times disproving - prevailing theories.

Essentially the discovery that mtDNA was passed down directly from mother to her children through history meant that it was relatively straightforward issue to trace back genetic lines to the dawn of civillisation, and indeed as Sykes does at the end of the book, to the dawn of man - or in this case woman. It was this item of our genetic make-up which his research has helped to pinpoint mysteries such as the identity of the last Tsar of Russia and the mysterious woman, Anna Anderson, who claimed to be the youngest of his daugthers, Anastacia.

MtDNA is unique - it is not actually part of the genetic building blocks of the human,therefore is not part of the exchange of genetic material at fertillization. however it is subject to mutation - the approximate rate of one mutation every 1000 years. His research into this matter allowed him to first trace the polynesian migration from its source in China through various islands finally to New Zealand, Easter Island and even Hawaii. This proof helped back up a plethora of physical resarch on these migrations, but disproved Thor Heyerdahl's theorys.

Sykes research of what happened in genetic migration in Europe is a bit more confusing. It was also more controversial as it went against the established theorys. Sykes mtDNA research indicated that the hunter/gatherers of Europe had not been overwhelmed by the Eastern Farmers who had been thought to have 'flooded' Europe. MtDNA indicated that some 80% of Europeans were descended from those original hunter/gatherers. The invasion, had been more of a gentle mixing of cultures and ways. However, simply because his research showed this didn't mean it was universally accepted, and for some time he had to provide enormous extra effort to back up his claims. His relentless pursuit of different means to do this is inspiring.

The book is generally in layman's terms and is easy to follow - there were occassions when it completely lost me (the model they used to analyse the spread of mtDNA in modern day europe was completely over my head - a square - apparently, but I couldn't see how it worked). Also the magnifying factor for making DNA replicate faster was not easy to understand. Luckily, neither is necessary to understand in detail, so much as in theory. However mostly the process' and the paths he followed were easy to comprehend.

Sykes writes well, which makes this a good read. The highs and the lows of his research, how he and his team thought up new processes, supported their research and finally became the accepted norm.

I also really enjoyed the last part which went into fiction of what these first 7 clan mothers lived like. He clearly has used archaeological research into these periods and probably finds, to colour these accounts. I felt they brought out just how life was in their time. What they ate, how they lived, the dangers, the possible culture, their life and their deaths. These 7 women did not all live at the same time, and all 7 represent a differnt region. They were spread from 45,000 to 20,000 years ago and from 7 different places in Europe. However it is there mtDNA which now dominates Europe - almost all the population is descended through their mother from one of these 7 women.

Highly recommended reading, an approachable, lively scientific read for the non-scientist