Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter?
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Authors
Scerri, Eleanor ML
Thomas, Mark G
Gunz, Philipp
Stock, Jay T
Stringer, Chris
Grove, Matt
Groucutt, Huw S
Timmermann, Axel
Rightmire, G Philip
d'Errico, Francesco
Tryon, Christian A
Drake, Nick A
Brooks, Alison S
Dennell, Robin W
Henn, Brenna M
Lee-Thorp, Julia
deMenocal, Peter
Petraglia, Michael D
Thompson, Jessica C
Chikhi, Lounès
Publication Date
2018-08Journal Title
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
ISSN
0169-5347
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
33
Issue
8
Pages
582-594
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Scerri, E. M., Thomas, M. G., Manica, A., Gunz, P., Stock, J. T., Stringer, C., Grove, M., et al. (2018). Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter?. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 33 (8), 582-594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005
Abstract
We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or region of Africa. The chronology and physical diversity of Pleistocene human fossils suggest that morphologically varied populations pertaining to the H. sapiens clade lived throughout Africa. Similarly, the African archaeological record demonstrates the polycentric origin and persistence of regionally distinct Pleistocene material culture in a variety of paleoecological settings. Genetic studies also indicate that present-day population structure within Africa extends to deep times, paralleling a paleoenvironmental record of shifting and fractured habitable zones. We argue that these fields support an emerging view of a highly structured African prehistory that should be considered in human evolutionary inferences, prompting new interpretations, questions, and interdisciplinary research directions.
Keywords
African origins, Middle Stone Age, evolutionary genetics, human evolution, paleoanthropology, paleoecology
Sponsorship
European Research Council (647787)
Wellcome Trust (unknown)
European Research Council (617627)
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/285566
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International, Attribution 4.0 International
Licence URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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