Heredity (the adjective is hereditary) is the transfer of
characteristics from parent to offspring through their genes, or
the transfer of a title, style or social status through the
social convention known as inheritance (for example, a
Hereditary Title may be passed down according to relevant
customs and/or laws). It was apparent to ancient humans that
offsprings resembled their parents. For example, Genesis 30-46
tells how Jacob and Labans split their sheep into white and
speckled varieties so they could distinguish the two to ensure
none were later stolen. Although it was clear that traits were
hereditary, the precise mechanism of heredity was not clear.
Ancient Concepts of Heredity The Greek philosophers had a
variety of ideas about heredity: Theophrastus proposed that male
flowers caused female flowers to ripen; Hippocrates speculated
that "seeds" were produced by various body parts and transmitted
to offspring at the time of conception, and Aristotle thought
that male and female semen mixed at concepti