In Bryan Sykes book, The Seven Daughters of Eve, he recalls the experiences he faced and obstacles he overcame while piecing together the ancestral history of Europe. The meaning of the title of his book comes from the discovery that ninety-five percent of Europeans can trace their ancestry back to seven different woman. In order to do this, the mitochondrial DNA must correspond with that of one of the seven women: Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, Tara, Katrine or Jasmine. Mitochondrial DNA, specifically that in the control region, is used because individuals have the same mitochondrial DNA as their mothers. The only way for mitochondrial DNA to change is through mutation. It is through the slowly developing mutations that Sykes is able to group
