A handful of recent discoveries have shattered anthropologists' picture of where humans came from, a

[Judi Lynn]

A handful of recent discoveries have shattered anthropologists' picture of where humans came from, and when
Aylin Woodward Jan 5, 2020, 7:48 AM

In recent years, anthropologists around the world have discovered new human ancestors, figured out what happened to the Neanderthals, and pushed back the age of the earliest member of our species.

Taken together, these breakthroughs suggest that many of our previous ideas about the human origin story — who we are and where we came from — were wrong.

Until the past few years, most scientists thought the first members of our species, Homo sapiens, evolved in East Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. Then humanity remained in Africa for the next 140,000 years, according to this line of thought, before venturing into Europe and Asia in what's known as the "Out of Africa" migration about 60,000 years ago. Those early humans proceeded to take over territories once occupied by other human ancestor species like Neanderthals.

But this understanding of history has been upended as new discoveries revealed that the first humans emerged much earlier than we thought and in a different part of Africa. Rather than simply replacing other competitor species, Homo sapiens seem to have interbred with them.

More:
https://www.businessinsider.com/discoveries-change-picture-of-human-history-evolution-2020-01

[Joinfortmill]

1. Very interesting stuff

[safeinOhio]

2. Paradigm shift

It starts with one anomaly and then spreads as new information is discovered. Science.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

3. Science indeed. Quote from Alexander Pope about being wrong:

"A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday". Alexander Pope (1688-1744) "Thoughts on Various Subjects", 1706.

[Collimator]

5. That is why I don't mind being the "dumbest" person in a room.

There's always an opportunity to learn. . . And being generally perceived as the smartest person in the room doesn't win you any points when the room is filled with people who cherish their ignorance.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Yup. If I'm the smartest person in the room I start looking for another room. Unless I'm teaching.nt

[eppur_se_muova]

14. One of my favorite quotes. nt

[DFW]

4. The Neander Valley (German: "Neanderthal" ) is just a 20 minute drive south of my house

There is a great museum on the site of the first discovery. I had the pleasure of driving California Peggy and Lionel Mandrake there.

I have to wonder if any of this will affect any of the displays?

[llashram]

7. oh, of course

next point of origin? further north I would imagine in this day and age...of trump.

[PatSeg]

8. This is what I love about anthropology

Over the years, there always are new and fascinating discoveries and the possibilities are endless. I started reading anthropology books when I was in sixth grade and over the years, each new groundbreaking discovery put humans back farther in time and often in new locations. It leaves me wondering what else will be uncovered in my lifetime?

[wnylib]

9. The current evidence on human evolution

is not too surprising if you consider that other animal species have had similar patterns before their current forms developed.

It seems that after Homo erectus evolved and moved out of Africa, HE evolution outside of Africa continued in various pockets of gene pools, developing their own traits. But, meantime, HE in Africa also continued evolving new changes up to early Homo sapiens, some of whom also moved out of Africa, met up with their HE cousins, and interbred with them, spreading HS around the globe, with traits added from their mating with Neanderthals, Denisovans, and whoever else we might yet discover, to produce the "new and improved" model of HSS (Homo sapiens sapiens) that we know today as....us.

Many driving forces were behind the changes that our ancestors went through, e.g. mutations, adaptations through natural selection, isolated gene pools for long periods, etc., but enough similarities remained smong various forms of HE descendants to make interbreeding between some of them possible.

But a significant factor in our ancestral migrations that allowed the variations to develop is not recognized often enough, IMO. Ancient climate changes. Initial glaciation, followed by alternating warming and glaciation periods, changed habitats, causing human ancestors to move around, following prey and vegetation.

Glaciation affected the entire planet, not just the regions covered by ice and snow. In Africa, for example, forest areas diminished in size, grasslands and deserts increased in some areas. Insufficient resources for large groups pressured some to move on. Favorable conditions caused some regions to increase in population. The need for adaptations favored increasing intelligence, ingenuity, use of local resources, and cooperation and sharing within groups as well as sometimes trade between groups.

Today, climate changes again require ingenuity, cooperation, and adaptations and changes. Our ancestors were up to it. I hope we are today.

[Ghost Dog]

10. Yes, but "our" descendants

will be few.

[wnylib]

11. ?

[Ghost Dog]

12. I foresee an imminent "bottleneck".

Climate change > famine, disease, social chaos > war... Greatly reduced population Bottleneck.

[wnylib]

13. OK. See what you meant and agree, unfortunately.