An analysis of thousands of skulls shows modern humans originated from a single point in Africa and finally lays to rest the idea of multiple origins, British scientists said on Wednesday.
Most researchers agree that mankind spread out of Africa starting about 50,000 years ago, quickly establishing Stone Age cultures throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.
Genetic evidence has always strongly supported the single origin theory, and now results from a study of more than 6,000 skulls held around the world in academic collections supports this case.
Andrea Manica and colleagues wrote in the journal Nature that variations in skull size and shape decreased the further a skull was away from Africa, just like variations in DNA.
The study also concludes that virtually no successive interbreeding with Neanderthals occurred. Regardless of what you may think of American politicians.
#28 – pedro – look at the title of the piece. The operative word is “confirmed”. What this bit of computational analysis has achieved is shutting the door on a minor class of nay-sayers.
Angel Wong –
We never quite got around to doing that experiment involving Marines and beer, did we? 😉
Regarding the “myth” – on the average, they’re larger. Some are indeed huge. But most of the difference is in the flaccid state, rather than the, uh, “turgid” state.
As a black person, i shall say that the giant black penis thing is indeed just a myth. That or I am a very unlucky black man….
I thought that the orgin of man in africa was allready prooven? Oh well, it is now.
Now if only scientists were free to do research about racial differences after this separation. I mean evolution didn’t stop did it? It’s possible that different groups of the same species in different places would end up evolving differently.
One interesting bit of post-Africa evolution – most humans living in or near the Arctic evolved to have lighter skin to enable them to more easily capture Vitamin D from the sparse Arctic sunlight.
However there is one notable exception to the “north=fair” rule. The Inuit (Eskimos) have relatively dark skin. Recently scientists discovered that the flesh of marine mammals (which is a major part of the Inuit diet) is high in Vitamin D. Therefore the Eskimos never faced any evolutionary pressure to develop lighter skin.
Frank, you’re wrong. I have it on the best of
scientificideological authority that as soon as H. sap arose, all human evolution stopped, and everyone on Earth is exactly the same as everyone else, physically, genetically, mentally, you-name-it.Get w/ the program, man!
#31 – without Humans, there’s no reason for Earth, or the Universe for that matter.
#38 – You know… I actually used to think that egocentrism was MY character flaw 🙂
#36, Frank,
Not true.
Many races lived close to northern seas and had ample access to vitamin D rich sea food. The same groups that live further inland didn’t, yet still maintained the same complexion as their cousins a few miles away.
It was the migration of peoples that had more to do with their skin color. At least one group of humans had light colored skin and pushed out of Africa. That their skin was light before or after they left Africa is unknown but most likely around the same time. The light skin may have been a help traveling through the interiors but not the determinate factor. Other nutrients would also have been missing from their diet.
#38 – Warmer,
without Humans, there’s no reason for Earth, or the Universe for that matter.
I’ve got a bit of news for you. There is no reason for Earth or the Universe. It simply is. Implying anything else invokes a deity. There isn’t one, and certainly not a personal one to whom we could pray for momentary suspension of the laws of physics. A universe in which one could do so would be demonstrably different from the one in which we live.
#41 – Explains your membership in VHEMT. I, for one, have a reason for living.
#39 – You don’t have to give it up. You’re welcome to join me. 😉
#42 – iGW,
I have my reasons for living. There is no greater reason. Your life has exactly as much reason as you give it. If you abdicate to a god, it probably detracts from rather than adds to the meaning of your life. It takes away from yourself the ability to assign your own meaning to your life and makes you one of the billions of sheeple on the planet.
Like every geek in the world, you all are obssessed with penises.
ADAM AND EVE WERE BLACK,
They were made in God’s image,
GOD IS BLACK.
We are all Africans, but some of us are more African than others.