Both the extent and location of the maternal ancestral deme from which the Ashkenazi Jewry arose remain obscure. Here, using complete sequences of the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), we show that close to one-half of Ashkenazi Jews, estimated at 8,000,000 people, can be traced back to only 4 women carrying distinct mtDNAs that are virtually absent in other populations, with the important exception of low frequencies among non-Ashkenazi Jews. We conclude that four founding mtDNAs, likely of Near Eastern ancestry, underwent major expansion(s) in Europe within the past millennium.
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The origin of the Ashkenazi Jews has fascinated a growing number of geneticists in recent decades. Using genetic markers to answer questions of history is an approach that is at once tempting and precarious. Both genetics and history are highly specialized fields, and with an interdisciplinary approach, difficulties abound.
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