Let’s go back 20 generations. That’s roughly 500 years – give or take – depending on how early people started having children in your family tree. We’re talking Tudors, plagues, revolutions, the whole lot.
You start with 2 parents.
Then 4 grandparents.
Then 8 great-grandparents.
Then 16 great-great-grandparents.
Then 32 great-great-great-grandparents.
Then 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Then 128 great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Then 256 great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Then 512 great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Then 1,024 ancestors 10 generations back – roughly 300 years ago.
Then 2,048 from 11 generations ago.
Then 4,096 at 12 generations.
8,192 at 13.
16,384 at 14.
32,768 at 15.
65,536 at 16.
131,072 at 17.
262,144 at 18.
524,288 at 19.
And finally… 1,048,576 ancestors, 20 generations back – around 500 years ago.
Over a million people. Just in that one generation. And if you add up all the ancestors from generation 1 to 20, the number’s even bigger – over two million in total.
Of course, it’s not quite that simple. People married cousins, villages were small, and sometimes family trees loop back on themselves. It’s called pedigree collapse (a weird name, but a real thing). Still, it’s wild to think that over a million separate lives might have shaped yours – genetically, culturally, geographically.
99.99% of them we’ll never even know the names of. But they’re all in there somewhere. Each one adding a line to the story that ended up with you.
3D5G 