larry_tapper{at}yahoo.com (Larry Tapper) wrote in news:c2q481$lfb$1
{at}darwin.ediacara.org:

> Let N(g) = the number of distinct ancestors a person has g generations
> back.
> 
> Thus for most people, N(1) = 2, N(2) = 4, and then patterns will vary
> according to local custom, degree of gene pool isolation, etc.
> Possibly N(6), which can be 64 at most, would actually turn out to be
> 40 or 50 on the average.
> 
> For any given member of homo sapiens, the values of g range from 1 to
> something like 50,000 or whatever, depending on how we date the origin
> of our species. However the _maximum_ value of N(g) is very likely
> found at some fairly low value of g, in fairly recent historical times
> I would think.
> 
> A question for population geneticists: is anything known about this
> function N(g)? If so, is it considered to have any theoretical
> interest in some context?

I'm not a population geneticist, but the answer is yes. According to Olson 
in Chapter 2 of _Mapping Human History_, the maximum value of N(g) is found 
at a g value of about 40, on average. Some of the researchers mentioned in 
the book, in case you want to look into this further, include Susumu Ohno, 
Lois Horowitz, Joseph Chang, and  Kenneth Wachter.

Yours,

Bill Morse
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