The recent African origins hypothesis relies upon which kind of genetic data?​

A) ​mitochondrial DNA
B) ​nuclear DNA
C) ​Y-chromosome DNA
D) ​protoplasmic DNA

The recent African origins hypothesis primarily relies on analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother, it is passed down unchanged from generation to generation, and it accumulates mutations at a relatively constant rate. Therefore, by comparing sequences of mtDNA from different populations, scientists are able to track the maternal ancestry of human populations and the timing of when different groups diverged from one another.