African Fossil Record Contributions African Fossil Record

African Fossil Record Contributions to the 'Out of Africa' Theory

The African fossil record represents the foundation upon which modern archeologists base many of their theories concerning the evolutionary history of modern humans (Klein, 2008). When combined with DNA sequencing, the African fossil record shows that modern humans probably emerged about 200-150 ka (thousand years ago) and expanded into Eurasia as recently as 50 ka. This 'Out of Africa' theory would therefore not exist without the African fossil record.

The human fossil record reveals that humans split into three morphologically distinct species approximately 500,000 years ago; Homo sapiens, H. neanderthalensis, and H. erectus, in Africa, Europe, and Asia, respectively (Klein, 2008). The African fossil record contains no evidence that Neanderthals were ever in Africa, therefore it is assumed that modern humans emerged in Africa in the absence of a Neanderthal contribution (Klein, 2011). The emergence...

If the evolutionary clock is rolled back still further, H. heidelbergensis probably represents the common ancestor for the H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis. H. heidelbergensis fossils date to 600-400 ka and this species is suspected of having carried artifacts out of Africa to Europe around 600 ka and of being the only hominin species in existence at the time.
While the African fossil record has provided an intriguing insight into human evolution, in the absence of independent confirmation, its validity was suspect. This changed when two decades ago biologists began sequencing mitochondrial DNA from both modern humans and hominid fossils (Klein, 2008). The results of these studies, which are still ongoing, are that they largely agree with the fossil record. The combination of these two lines of evidence has given archeologists increased confidence in the fossil record for both Neanderthals and H. sapiens fossils found in Africa. The validity of the African…