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The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry Paperback – May 17, 2002

by Bryan Sykes (Author)

422 customer reviews

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The national bestseller that reveals how we are descended from seven prehistoric women.

In 1994 Bryan Sykes was called in as an expert to examine the frozen remains of a man trapped in glacial ice in northern Italy for over 5000 years―the Ice Man. Sykes succeeded in extracting DNA from the Ice Man, but even more important, writes Science News, was his "ability to directly link that DNA to Europeans living today." In this groundbreaking book, Sykes reveals how the identification of a particular strand of DNA that passes unbroken through the maternal line allows scientists to trace our genetic makeup all the way back to prehistoric times―to seven primeval women, the "seven daughters of Eve."

illustrated and includes a map

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A lovely, rollicking book, direct and clear.... [A] fascinating glimpse into anthropology in the era of the genome.”
- Wall Street Journal

“Sykes recounts his tale of discovery with the drama it warrants...gripping.”
- New York Times Book Review

“Scientifically accurate and understandable to the layperson.... [The Seven Daughters of Eve] will be recognized as an important work, bringing molecular anthropology to a mass audience.”
- Nature

“A natural storyteller, [Sykes] relates the history of developing genetics up to contemporary times as the DNA of genes is decoded.... A riveting account showing how archeological evidence and molecular biology findings complement one another in the challenge to unearth our past and our beginnings.”
- Choice

“Sykes has solved some of the hottest debates about human origins.”
- Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, pioneered the use of DNA in exploring the human past. He is the author of Saxons, Vikings, and Celts and the New York Times bestseller The Seven Daughters of Eve.

Product details

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (May 17, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0393323145
ISBN-13: 978-0393323146
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 422 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Physical
- #54 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Genetics
- #92 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > General

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June 19, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because you could tell that Bryan Sykes so thoroughly enjoyed the scientific investigations he took on throughout his professional life. He was not only a rigorous genetics scientist but valued the use of imagination in his work and was not afraid to use expertise from other scientific branches--paleontology, archaeology, mathematics--to help his projects go forward and find answers. Many people did not like his "stories" of the seven daughters. I did. You know he researched what the climate was like, what plants were growing at the different ages, what the landscape looked like, what animals roamed the land, what people would have eaten back then. Perhaps the stories themselves were a bit simplistic but I was fascinated by all of the background info. And now his stories raise a question that I cannot answer right now: would I rather live in Europe now with its large, polluted cities and overpopulation or way back when only small bands of people roamed Europe with the cold, the constant hunt for food, the constant perils to one's life, and the overwhelming emptiness of the area?

10 people found this helpful

Comment

Would Be Proud to Call Any of the Seven Ladies "Grandma"

September 27, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I would have been a lot more disappointed in the 100% European results of my recent DNA test if I hadn't happened to be reading The Seven Daughters of Eve when my pie chart came in over the Internet. The book focuses largely on European mitochondrial DNA. Bryan Sykes made me realize that European ancestry isn't just boring "white bread." My ancestors have been milling around in Europe for tens of thousands of years, through episodes of extreme climate change and sudden technological innovations. The author, a pioneer in the study of mitochondrial DNA as a window into the past, writes in a lively and at times humorous way about what could have been a dry topic. (Sometimes he lost me in the technicalities, but I just bashed my way out of the woods and read on.) Now I want to know which of the Seven Daughters is my great-great-etc.-grandmother.

9 people found this helpful

Comment

Find out where your DNA came from

February 4, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

If you have had DNA testing done, especially if you are a woman, this book is a must read. It explains the source of your particular type of DNA in story form that is easily understandable. Our DNA is passed down remarkably unchanged over centuries from mother to daughter. You will find out where in the world your DNA originated and what kind of life ancient people lived there. Even children might enjoy these stories if they are interested in science and DNA testing.

18 people found this helpful

Comment

Good science in a great layman package

September 26, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Characterizing the seven daughters in the last chapters was difficult and it showed but still it was mildly interesting. I really liked the rest of the book. Another thing I liked was the layman level presentation of the science and practice of DNA rendering. I am so glad the author did not try to go back much further than 25,000± years and I give him credit for this. The spread of "DNA" by the Polynesians from island to island was fascinating and so was the British Isles. This is one of the best books I have read in the last year.

9 people found this helpful

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T. Hannibal Gay

A good anthropology read.

March 19, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I liked it as an anthropology book, but the stories he wrote about the seven grandmothers were a bit much. I realize he was trying to put a human face on all of them, but writers of stone age novels don't have to worry about a new rival. Still it is about the development of mitochondrial DNA and how Sykes was exonerated by the false charges from a research assistant, and by the nasty statements by Anthony Sforza of Stanford who must now feel like a fool for his vicious comments towards Sykes. I worked in academia as a business officer for twenty years at different universities and got to see this nasty and vicious jealousy first hand over and over. Sykes seminal contribution for female mitochondrial DNA is just as important as Sforza's seminal contribution for male Y chromosome DNA.

14 people found this helpful

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This Changed the Way I Think about Humanity

December 18, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

There are seven individual women, who lived between 10,000 years ago and 45,000 years ago between the Middle East and various areas of Europe, who are the direct ancestors of 95% of all European people alive today. Yes, exactly seven women. I am European, so I am likely the direct descendent of one of those seven individuals.

The author Bryan Sykes is a professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford. He has done pioneering work in genetics, specializing in studying mitochondrial DNA. One of the striking attributes is that the mitochondrial DNA is not passed on by males, only by females. Therefore, my personal mitochondrial DNA can be studied and compared with that of other contemporaries. When Sykes did this, he discovered that all modern Europeans pretty much belonged to one of only seven “groups” or “clans” as he calls them. Studying mutation frequency and the base mitochondrial DNA, coupled with the anthropological record, he was able to determine that there were seven specific women that are the mothers of all Europeans.

He then traced further back into our African roots and found one single woman, who lived about 150,000 years ago in Africa, who is the mother of all human beings alive today. He calls her fittingly Mitochondrial Eve.

Sykes writes The Seven Daughters of Eve for the non-scientist, but he goes through great pains to describe his research, the steps he went through to come to his conclusions, and the various scientific hurdles he had to jump. The book reads like a detective story, and I had trouble putting it down. After he makes his scientific points, the muses about the lives of the seven women. How might they have lived, what were the conditions of their lives like, how did they spend their days?

A number of negative reviews challenge details in Sykes' conclusions, and the way he builds his "case" in this book. I found his excursion into Polynesia very helpful, because he used the simpler scenarios there as a vehicle to introduce me (who is not a biologist or geneticist) to the subject. After the Polynesia story, I was ready for Europe.

I also enjoyed reading his fictional musings about what the lives of the seven women may have been like very helpful. I haven't studied anthropology, and I felt like he was sort of holding my hand and showing me what he speculated. It gave me visuals to work with.

The roots of our human existence, our history and our unique humanness became alive for me as I read this book. Many times I was caught in reveries, dreaming about the lives of my ancestors. I was overwhelmed by the immense time periods that have elapsed, and how very unlikely our human existence actually is. 45,000 years represents about 2,000 generations. I know my grandmother. That’s three generations. However, my grandmother’s DNA comes from one of the seven daughters of Eve, 2,000 generations ago.

The book may not work for scientists. It's not a textbook. But I don't believe that's what he tried to write here. I wanted to popularize the subject of mitochondrial DNA to laymen, like me. And that's exactly what he did.

The Seven Daughters of Eve inspired me on many levels and has enriched my life. I will never think about humanity the same way again.

30 people found this helpful

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