Occhidiangela,Apr 16 2006, 09:01 AM Wrote:Generally, the prohibition is on cosanguinity among first cousins and immediate family.
If one believes the mitochondrial RNA theme, which takes us all back on one "proto-eve" a few million years ago in central Africa (Discovery had a great show on that about 10 years ago) the first generation or two of humans had to be indulging in incest.
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Don't confuse the chicken with the egg yet, or declare that they're sexually frustrated. Human incest? Ok, it happens sometimes, and I have no way of tracking. Was incest necessary and guaranteed? I doubt that the form above was required. Possible, probably happened to an extent, but incest via one couple would show a generally lead to deformative genetic death. Given common ancestry at the cellular level can be far more sexually vigorous, I do not believe direct lineage from the chicken and egg is the answer. Certain forms of bacteria, when you open up their structures, readily accept bits of RNA from who knows where. Other forms can accept it from the dead remains of their comrades into their own structure. Genetic soup likes to mix. Co-development among several groups becomes a possibility.
Sure, mitochondria do suggest the diffusion path of development of common ancestry. However, the start of that ancestry isn't likely "human". There's little telling when we obtained the same mitochondria. It could be when we formed from individual subcellular beings to single cells formed of many specialized subcellular parts. It could be when we turned multicellular and absorbed other bits into us. It could be later somehow (probably involving sexual scandals between different species). Point being, we don't have to be from the same tribe of "humans" if our common heritage dates back further than all of that.
Given that the mitochondrial ancestry dates back further than what's "human", we could have co-development somewhere. More than one tribe could've been seperated from those primordial jungles by some event that requires us to rely more on this intellect we've developed.