O’Neal 1
Dajon O’Neal
David Zeanah
Anthropology 15
Section 03
Take Home Essay
Origins to Our Existence on Earth There are two theories about the origin of modern humans: 1) they began in one place, Africa—and 2) pre-modern humans migrated from Africa to become modern humans in other parts of the world. According to the lectures, most evidence trace to the first theory because of a few satisfying valid reasons. In the lectures it was told that “fossils of modern humans are particularly found in Africa” (Zeanah: lecture). In addition to this logic, it is also mentioned that “DNA studies suggest a originating population in Africa” (Zeanah). Although it seems that the first theory might be more credible, both theories to this day are
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Although the understanding are similar the years and dates to when this migration came into play differ from many researchers which leaves it to question which one hypothesis is truly right. My opinion due to the lectures and class textbook, I support the evidence being showed that we all originated from Africa and traveled throughout the world. I believe our origins came out of Africa and no other place due to the lectures explaining how the oldest living DNA piece of evidence found for the first finding of human life was in Africa, it clearly states that we came from Africa and were made in there, later moving and migrated to other regions. Also, many experts say, “Numerous genetic studies support the single-origin model, finding that the genetic diversity of today 's human populations is greatest in Africa and decreases steadily with distance from that continent” (sciencemag.org). Having much beneficial evidence that humans originated from Africa can lead and tell us that this theory has a higher percentage of being right in a behavioral and anatomical content due to the research being shown. Out of Africa model seems to have more evidence although the Multiregional hypothesis has some reasonable theories to its hypothesis as well. Progressing, even though the Multiregional hypothesis seems to be relatively credible and have good reason to the theory that modern humans emerged from populations of
1.1) The MRC theory says after the first migration from Africa 1.8 million years ago, the different groups of humans in different part of the world slowly evolved in parallel with each other. The emergence of modern humans didn’t occur in a single area, but on different continents. In contrast, the OOA theory says humans evolved first in African and then migrated to different continents. The Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens evolved into different species and interbreeding would be rare which is why there are different races. The only similarity between the two theories is that humans started in Africa. Until about 14 years ago, Genetic DNA showed that the MRC theory was correct. But 13 years ago more evidence shows the OOA theory is more realistic. Anatomical evidence shows different physical characteristic between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. Archeological
Humans developed in Africa. “…, indicates that the earliest stages of human evolution were also played out in Africa.” (Page 36)
Chris stringer is the author of Lone Survivor How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth. Stringer covers a wide variety of topics in his book. He talks about the modern technology we have now that makes it easier to identify fossils, bones, dates, etc. He also mentions how the human gene became what it is today, the Homo sapien. Stringer argues that Homo sapiens did not originate in a single region of Africa. Instead, different populations coexisted across the continent with other species like Homo erectus, and they exchanged genes, tools and behavioral and survival traits before they migrated to Europe.
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.
"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
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.
There has been a great deal of heated debate for the last few decades about where modern Homo sapiens originated. From the battle grounds, two main theories emerged. One theory, labeled “Out-of-Africa” or “population replacement” explains that all modern Homo sapiens evolved from a common Homo erectus ancestor in Africa 100,000 years ago. The species began to spread and replace all other archaic human-like populations around 35,000 to 89,000 years ago. The rivaling opinion, entitled the “regional continuity” theory or “multiregional evolution” model refutes this theory and states modern humans evolved from various species of Homo erectus who interbred with others that lived in
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
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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,