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My question is about the very definition of this common ancestor.

Why shouldn't be the mother of mitocondrial Eve the real Eva m (and so on to grand grand ...mother)? All I know on the subject comes from Wikipedia. My question comes from the idea that mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to daughter. I do not see where to stop back in time.

Please consider that here I am not asking for details or controversies. Just the significance of mitochondrial Eve.

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  • $\begingroup$ I don't really understand your question. What do you call Eva m exactly? The MRCA of all of today's mitochondria in humans? What do you call real Eva m? $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Nov 20, 2017 at 0:24
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    $\begingroup$ It is mitochondrial Eve, not Eva and is sometimes abbreviated mt-Eve or mt-MRCA (see the wiki article) $\endgroup$
    – Remi.b
    Commented Nov 20, 2017 at 0:32

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As the Wikipedia article says:

In human genetics, the Mitochondrial Eve (also mt-Eve, mt-MRCA) is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all currently living humans

Note the use of the words "most recent". The mother and grandmother of the actual Mitochondrial Eve were living before Mitochondrial Eve, and thus are less recent than she is.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thanks. I somehow skip that. I am amazed by this. How it comes that we are not from 2, 3 , n ... maternal lines ? I just discovered it yesterday and makes me wonder. $\endgroup$
    – Alchimista
    Commented Nov 20, 2017 at 8:31

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