From Matriarchism to Maternal Continuity

<jats:p>Maternal inheritance has been extensively investigated in reproductive biology, genetics, genealogy, and population science, yet these domains are rarely integrated within a single theoretical framework. This study develops Maternal Continuity Theory (MCT) as an interdisciplinary model for examining human intergenerational continuity across three analytically distinct but potentially convergent dimensions: gestational continuity, genealogical continuity, and maternal genetic continuity. The theory originates from the observable maternal-fetal relationship established during gestation and extends this relationship conceptually through serial mother-offspring links across generations. Unlike earlier formulations that risked conflating anatomical, genealogical, and genetic evidence, the revised MCT distinguishes each evidentiary domain and defines explicit boundaries between direct observation, documentary reconstruction, molecular corroboration, and population-level inference. The framework incorporates reproductive physiology, multigenerational pedigree modelling, predominantly maternal mitochondrial DNA transmission, evolutionary biology, and population genetics. An illustrative multigenerational family from Bangladesh is reanalysed to demonstrate how female-line gestational pathways, broader genealogical descent, and mitochondrial transmission may overlap while remaining biologically distinct. Eight theoretical propositions are advanced, including the Serial Maternal-Link Principle, Domain Independence Principle, Transmission-Relatedness Distinction, Maternal Continuity Convergence Principle, and Deep-Time Inference Boundary. MCT is positioned as complementary to, rather than competing with, evolutionary theory and biparental genetic ancestry. It does not equate mitochondrial coalescence with a unique first human female and does not treat theological interpretations as biomedical evidence. The theory generates a testable research programme based on verified pedigrees, reproductive histories, mtDNA sequencing, and evidence convergence. MCT therefore offers a falsifiable interdisciplinary framework for investigating a persistent maternal dimension of human descent across individual, family, molecular, and population scales. Keywords: Maternal Continuity Theory; gestational continuity; maternal genealogy; mitochondrial DNA; human origins; reproductive biology; population genetics; intergenerational descent</jats:p>