NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Ancestral

An ancestor is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor. So this includes a father or mother, as well as grandparents, great_grandparents, and so on.

Two individuals have a genetic relationship if one is the ancestor of the other or if they share a common ancestor; in a curious use of language in evolutionary theory, this is called common descent. (Strictly speaking this may not be true for some bacteria and similar organisms which are capable of direct horizontal gene transfer.)

Some societies have had a form of ancestor worship; most modern societies seem to have focused this into genealogy.

Handprint : Geoevolution (3279 words)
	Ancestral Greenland, northern Europe and the eastern United States remained above sea level, while most of the areas that are today western Canada, Russia and the United States were submerged.
	The impact of Cimmeria with Laurasia formed the Cimmerian orogeny, including the ancestral Caucasus Mountains, and the impact of the Chinese and Tibetan blocks raised the ancestral Siberian and Chinese mountains.
	Blocks ancestral to the Himalaya Mountains, Southeastern Asia and Maylasia remained scattered as a vast archipelago to the south.

More results at FactBites »

COMMENTARY

Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.

See also