40% Ashkenazim [European Jews] come from matriarchs

Jerusalem Post ^ | January 13, 2006 | JUDY SIEGEL

[ChicagoHebrew]

But perhaps they were named Rachel, Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah... just kidding, as the article makes clear that these 4 women lived about 1000 years ago. Still, it's a little funky how just 4 people left so many descendants. . . . what happened to the other descendants of all the other Jewish women living in Franco-Germany about 1000 years ago?

[ChicagoHebrew]

1000 years ago is roughly when Jews divided into the present day Ashkenazi and Sephardi populations. As for 60-65 years ago, presumably that wouldn't affect this study -- unless the progeny of other women died far more frequently for some unexplained reason.

[aliquando]

I am currently teaching my students about human genetics. Tay-Sachs is one of the autosomal recessive diseases we discussed thanks for the interesting insight into the possible effect of the founders' effect!

[Clemenza]

Ashkenazic ping!

[lizma]

Oxford is doing genetic studies that trace all of European descent to "The Seven Daughters of Eve".

Sounds like you guys are more "diverse" :-)

[Jeff Chandler]

The Ashkenazi Jewish population has often been studied by experts in human genetics because of the accumulation of some 20 recessive hereditary disorders that are concentrated in this population, the authors wrote.

Google "Hermansky-Pudlak Ashkenazim" and "oculocutaneous albinism Ashkenazim".

[Cacique]

Ping

[shuckmaster]

what happened to the other descendants of all the other Jewish women living in Franco-Germany about 1000 years ago?

Different women will have different numbers of daughters and there's a tendency for some lines to reproduce more prolifically than others. There's a neat little mathematical trick which demonstrates that if you take the total number of women in an isolated group, (say 40), within the same number of generations (40) every female in the group will most likely be descended from just one original female. Using that formula, a group of 160 women could reduce to just 4 lines in 1,000 years. Of course, in the article, it says 40% came from just 4 lines which means there were a lot more than 160 in the original migratory group and there's still plenty of reducing yet to go before you get down to just one line. It's estimated that every woman living today is descended from just one female who lived about 160,000 years ago.

[Pharmboy]

Thanks for the ping...my sister did her mtDNA and I would like to know the haplotypes identified, but the abstract of the article doesn't list it. I will try and get the full text of the article.

[old and tired]

what happened to the other descendants of all the other Jewish women living in Franco-Germany about 1000 years ago?

They married descendents of Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah... ;) Just kidding. Good question.

I have a very goy question. Are the Ashkenazim the Hasidim? Or are they something different? I'm just surprised to hear one type of Jew constitute half of the Jewish population. Or is Ashkenazim a bloodline more than a religious practice? And some Ashkenazim are Orthodox, some Conservative, some Reformed, etc.?

[old and tired]

Oops. Now I see in the title it says Ashkenazim are European Jews! Was that there the whole time? I must be getting old. And tired.

[old and tired]

Fascinating.

[SJackson]

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[trisham]

Interesting article. Thanks.

[Alouette]

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[Sabramerican]

The difference today is mostly in slight differences in religious observance and traditions. Arising out of different Rabbinical authority interpretations.

Communities from various places kept those differences so they account for certain different ethnic Jews being one or the other.

My family history should make us Sephardi but a zig zag in and out of Easter Europe starting about 500 years ago makes us Ashkenazi.

The answer to your last question is yes.

[Ancesthntr]

I have a very goy question. Are the Ashkenazim the Hasidim? Or are they something different? I'm just surprised to hear one type of Jew constitute half of the Jewish population. Or is Ashkenazim a bloodline more than a religious practice? And some Ashkenazim are Orthodox, some Conservative, some Reformed, etc.?

Ashkenazi Jews are those of European descent; Sephardic Jews are from Spain, North Africa and the Mid East-recently, of course, as all Jews except converts and their descendants are originally of Mid Eastern origin. BTW, Ashkenaz is Germany and Sepherad is Spain - that is the origin of these terms.

Religious practice is not genetic or familial in origin - it is up to each person what they do. There are Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews who are Ashkenazi, just as members of all three groups can be Sephardic. The Hasidim are almost all Ashkenazi Jews, but relatively few Ashkenazi Jews are Hasidim.

[neverdem]

Mainstream, Progressive or Recessive?

Schumer Gets Schooled on the Constitution