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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 1996-10 > 0844272399


From: DrAndreWho <>
Subject: Re: Charlemagne's descendants
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 1996 12:06:39 -0400


>>What is even more interesting, the percentage of the population
>>at a given time who are direct ancestors is shown as achieving
>>80% at the 1227 (King John) generation and remains roughly constant
>>rather than reaching 100%. The author says that if we get very
>>far back in time, when the population is very small, then it may
>>achieve 100% but his model does not show that.

>This paragraph does surprise me because I cannot imagine >that 80% of
today's
>population will have offspring, let alone 80% of the >population of an
earlier
>time be so blessed.

I think you might have gotten a little mixed up.
I had to read it twice to understand, but what it's saying is that any
radomly chosen english decended person is decented from 80% of the
population at that time which had decendants.

>Reaching 100% would be impossible of course...
No you could say that at some particular point in ancient history your
ancestors accounted for all the people who had any decendants at the time.
Of course that probably wouldn't be for a few millenia back.

This number theory only works so well in england because it's an island
and not too many people crossed the channel back towards europe to start
up families.

Ponder on that...
Andrew

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