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1Anatomically Modern Humans: Origins and Dispersal
Anth 1013 Lecture
22 November 2004
2The Modern Human “Chin”
3The Questions
nWhen
qApproximately when do we first see AMH?
nWhere
qDid AMH arise from multiple, regionally disparate populations?
nTempo
qWas the appearance of AMH a rapid event?
4History of the Models
nRegional continuity (Multiregional)
qOriginally called the “candelabra” model
qModified to include some genetic flow between groups
nOut of Africa (Replacement)
qOriginally called the “Noah’s arc” model
qModified concerning environmental change as main factor of replacement
5Bodies of Evidence
nIn general, fossil evidence corroborates genetic data
qEarliest AMH specimens from Africa
nKlasies River caves (over 100 kya) and Border Cave
qNear East
nSkhul Cave at Mt. Carmel (115 kya) and Qafzeh Cave (100 kya), Israel
qNear Neanderthal site of Tabun
qEurope
nEastern Europe (Croatia and Czech Republic)
q~ 45-33 kya
nWestern Europe
qCro-Magnon in France (at least by ~ 30 kya)
qFar East (China and SE Asia)
nAt least by 20 kya, possibly as old as 50 kya (Mongolia)
6Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Analysis
nMitochondrial vs. nuclear DNA
qNuclear
nPassed on to offspring by both parents
nDouble-helix structure (millions of base pairs)
nMutates at a slow rate
q9 of 10 mutations are deleterious to the organism
qMitochondrial
nPassed only through the female line (i.e., you only have it from your mother)
nLoop-shaped structure (~ 17,000 base pairs)
qEasier to work with
nMutates 10X faster
qNon-deleterious mutations
7Divergence
nVariation in mtDNA
qModern humans
n~ 8 nucleotides (avg.)
qHumans and Neanderthals
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