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My understanding is that there were multiple waves of migration out of Africa, the first being around 2 million years ago. The first waves were not of anatomic
by CSMastermind 3y ago
My understanding is that there were multiple waves of migration out of Africa, the first being around 2 million years ago.
The first waves were not of anatomically modern humans but Homo erectus and its contemporaries up into modern Georgia, then East into China, then eventually into Indonesia.
Then around 1 million years later, there was another migration of Homo erectus out into Southeast Asia along the coast through India and eventually into Vietnam and Malaysia.
This second migration seems to be what the paper is referencing and definitely the one that, at least 10 years ago, the anthropology community had the least confidence in. My understanding, again dated by a decade now, is that it was uncertain if hominoids entered Europe at that point or not.
Neanderthals left Africa 500,000 years later into Europe while Denisovans left at the same time into Asia ending up concentrated in Serbia.
Modern Humans don't show up until another 400,000 years after that (around 100,000 years ago) and don't leave Africa until 70,000 years ago. They also left Africa in multiple waves with 5 main ones spreading out across the globe.
- KoftaBob 3y ago> They also left Africa in multiple waves with 5 main ones spreading out across the globe. Where can I learn more about these 5 waves?
- defrost 3y agoThe number of waves and the granulation of waves isn't set in stone as such; there's a pretty decent broad view from afar regarding early human, and a great deal of finer detail still up for debate. Reading through https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_human_migrations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_human_migrations top to bottom will give a good enough first overview and an idea of where uncertainly lies and references to chase for further debate. Eg: Currently there's some hot debate on whether parts of the "coastal migration" to Australasia took place over inland routes within South East Asia - that's a matter of old coast lines at the time, inland cave shelters with datable bones, and a sparse game of chronological joind the estimated dots in space and time - it gets technical.
- mihaic 3y agoWho We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich is I think a great book if you're interested in human migrations.
- prawn 3y agoI always liked this map that helped convey the possible pathways that spread humans from the main wave: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_map_of_prehistoric_human_migrations.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_map_of_prehistoric_...
- Cacti 3y agoSuch a wonderful projection.
- mikhailfranco 3y agoOne useful page that references the image: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ancient_History/Human_Evolution/Recent_African_Origin https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ancient_History/Human_Evolutio...
- verisimi 3y ago> Where can I learn more about these 5 waves? You simply go back 2 million years and verify it yourself. Alternatively, read it on wikipedia.
- smnc 3y ago> while Denisovans left at the same time into Asia ending up concentrated in Serbia. You probably meant to write Siberia.
- CSMastermind 3y agoI did! Thank you.
- lkrubner 3y ago"Neanderthals left Africa 500,000 years later into Europe while Denisovans left at the same time" For most of the past 25 years there was a theory that Neanderthals and Denisovans were descended from Homo Heidelbergensis, in which case Neanderthals and Denisovans probably evolved in Europe or the Middle East. The oldest known Homo Heidelbergensis is maybe 1 millions years old and most of the early Homo Heidelbergensis were found in Europe, so it is assumed that Homo Heidelbergensis evolved in Europe. Recently, many have argued that Neanderthals and Denisovans were not descended from Homo Heidelbergensis, but instead from some other species of humans that has not yet been discovered. But it remains likely that Neanderthals and Denisovans evolved outside of Africa.