Take Home Essay

Humans developed in Africa. “…, indicates that the earliest stages of human evolution were also played out in Africa.” (Page 36)

The Journey of Man was an interesting non-fictional anthropological literary piece where the author sought to explain how modern humans came to inhabit the world we know today. He began by talking about the mitochondrial DNA passed from mother to daughter, or the maternal line. Using this it was discovered that all people had a common female ancestor who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago. This was one of the first steps in supporting the out of Africa hypothesis. However, mtDNA could not give all the answers to how humans moved throughout the world, and for that he turned to the male Y chromosome. By examining this, he and many other geneticists discovered the different changes throughout populations, and could estimate how long ago they occurred. According to Wells, modern humans were in Africa 60,000 years ago, and from that point began to migrate outward. For each new area, such as Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and others, there were specific polymorphisms on the Y chromosome that defined each population. By using this technique, he was able to map out when modern

"Where did humans originate ? " you might of asked. Humans originated from Asia, well people believed that. People believed that native people live in America because they were descendants of long-ago ancestors from Asia. Can you believe

The Out-Africa-Theory that has been heavily sided with is the hypothesis that remains the most likely to have happened. Not only because that is the theory that has the most scientific evidence but also because that is were the remains of the oldest primate fossil on all seven continents have been found. Even though the recent evidence in Asia is very convincing, there is too much noteworthy evidence found in Africa that an not be ignored. Moreover, such a new theory is lacking a substantial amount of evidence and investigation in order for it to become convincing theory. This leads the scientific world to side with the fact that we have deeper-rooted ancestry in Africa.

Development of humans occurred on the continent of Africa. The book mentions “Their [Humans] confinement to Africa, along with abundant fossil evidence, indicates that the earliest stages of human evolution were also played out in Africa.” on page 36.

Most theories of how the American continent was populated date back thousands of years and are brought up by evidence such as bone structure, genetics, skeletons, and weather patterns. Although some religions and tribes have opposing theories not based on cold hard facts but beliefs. To begin, the Clovis theory states that around 16,500 years ago modern humans migrated from Southern Siberia over the Bering Land Bridge that connected the American continent to the Asian continent. This theory is based off of genetic findings and past knowledge of weather patterns, earth’s movements, and the tectonic plate theory. To continue, the second theory is that African people

fossils, burial sites, caves, and other sources of information. It is important to learn about

Professor David Lordkipanidze presented some highly interesting information regarding our ancestry as humans. He is an internationally renowned scientist and paleontologist, and it was a great privilege to hear about his work in the Dmanisi where he led the discovery and analysis of the earliest human found outside of Africa.

In the past few years, advancements in biotechnology and a growing collection of hominid bone remnants have allowed paleoanthropologists to gain insight into how populations of different archaic hominid species interacted. In particular, sequencing of the Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) genome has provided evidence that the evolution of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) was influenced by interbreeding and gene flow between the two species of Homo. By comparing Neanderthal and modern human DNA, researchers have been able to produce evidence that would support the notion that not only was interbreeding possible, but also that it likely happened and produced a selective advantage.

The Out of Africa Theory is a widely renown theory describing the origin of the human race and their early dispersal throughout the world. According to this theory, humans have a monogensis, or a single and common origin; Africa. The concept was first introduced in 1871 by Charles Darwin but was deliberated for years until further studies of mitochondrial DNA and evidence ”based on physical anthropology of archaic specimens” was added.

Human origins, evolution, and diffusion are important for understanding the history of Africa. African historians take pride in the fact that Africa is most certainly the birthplace of humanity. There is evidence showing that humanity began in Africa by remains left behind by human groups and societies. They have retrieved fossils of living organisms, and even written records, like cave drawings. Dating back millions of years ago Africa provides the best time line of human development because other parts of the world do not have evidence dating back as far as in Africa. Where did humanity and human history begin? There are theories supporting both that, humans evolved from various parts of the world, and that humans rose in Africa then migrated to other parts of the world and continued to develop. The theory that has the most support is that humanity rose in Africa then moved to other regions of the world. Africa is indeed the home of humanity but because Africa is where humanity began they were not able to be at the top of the evolutionary ladder because their global location did not allow them to develop faster. Human history in general is difficult to understand but we can look at the past to learn more about where we came from and how our societies have developed.

One of the first early homo sapiens were located majorly in East Africa around 200,000 years ago. Fossils from there showed skull changes that were similar to modern humans today such as a rounded skull and a protruding chin. Few thousand years later the brown ridges started to shrink and form a forehead much like ours. As scientists started to find more clues about the homo genus, there were arguments about the true origins of homo sapiens and were split into two different views on the subject. They are The Multiregional Evolution Model (MRE) and The African Replacement Model (AR).

I agree that there are possibilities that different hominids evolved in different parts of the world before the migration of modern humans. DNA itself is a heavily accurate piece of evidence that could support this idea by examining the gene mutations from the different archaeological sites around the world thus comparing them to the gene mutations of Homo sapiens to find similarities or differences around the time of the migration. I agree that the weather may have been a major influence on the migration of humans because hunting and gathering was still the major way of finding food the changing seasons could’ve pushed humans to warmer areas when cold and vice versa.

Human evolution according to research started over 6 million years ago. The outcome of the evolution process is the current human beings. Scientific studies have revealed over the years a remarkable affinity between the chimpanzees/Apes and human beings. Even though this reality is not a definitive prove that human beings evolved from apes, it does show that the human beings are in one way or another related to other primates. Scientists suppose that the humans and the primates shared a common ancestor. The subject of what makes humans what they are and their origin has been the exclusive purpose leading to many scientific studies globally (Coolidge & Wynn, 2011). Studies believe that Africa was the origin of evolution millions of years ago. Fossil remains have been discovered in different parts of Africa as well as other regions of the world. Different hominins have been discovered around the world in the last 1 million years. Thus, the different discoveries have led to comparisons between the various species of hominins to clarify on their similarities as well as differences. This essay seeks to explain whether they were distinctively different species or regional versions of the same species.

The modern theory concerning the evolution of man proposes that humans and apes derive from an apelike ancestor that lived on earth a few million years ago. The theory states that man,