Mitochondrial Eve and the Affective Politics of Human Ancestry

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores a scientific technology—mitochondrial analysis—that underlies contemporary technoscientific phenomena such as genetic ancestry tests, ethnic diversity projects, and national genome projects. The article focuses on the figure of “Mitochondrial Eve,” the most recent common matrilineal ancestor of modern humans, who lived in Africa a few hundred thousand years ago. Introduced by Rebecca Cann, Mark Stoneking, and Allan Wilson in 1987, Mitochondrial Eve became the object of an intense scientific and cultural debate, appearing in numerous journal articles and on the cover of Newsweek magazine, as well as in media commentaries on gender roles and popular culture. Through a critical reading of the press coverage of the mitochondrial debate between 1987 and 2000, this article explores an evolving set of cultural emotions, including hope, celebration, suspicion, and anxiety that shaped the idea of human ancestry during the debate. The article argues that the introduction of “Y-chromoso...