African Fossil Record Contributions African Fossil Record Essay

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…

Sources Used in Documents:

References

Klein, Richard G. (2008). Out of Africa and the evolution of human behavior. Evolutionary Anthropology, 17, 267-281.

Shea, John J. (2011). Refuting a myth about human origins: Homo sapiens emerged once, not as modern-looking people first and as modern-behaving people later. American Scientist, 99, 128-135.


Cite this Document:

"African Fossil Record Contributions African Fossil Record" (2012, December 16) Retrieved April 19, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/african-fossil-record-contributions-african-83655

"African Fossil Record Contributions African Fossil Record" 16 December 2012. Web.19 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/african-fossil-record-contributions-african-83655>

"African Fossil Record Contributions African Fossil Record", 16 December 2012, Accessed.19 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/african-fossil-record-contributions-african-83655

Related Documents

Wicked Problem: Royal Dutch Shell and Its Response to the Nigerian Oil Spill Major oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell are responsible for hundreds of oil spills every year that cumulatively involve millions of barrels of oil. The harmful effects of such oil spills on the environment is well documented of course, but less well documented are the different types and levels of responses that are used in response

But that doesn't really change the history or the reality of any event. Emancipation should have been our first concern but fortunately it was not even one of the main concerns let alone the first one. Lincoln along with other political heavyweights were more interested in appeasing the South and various efforts were made to please the Southern elite since secession was an imminent possibility. So for various political and

International Regulation of Tourism in Antarctica Since the mid-1980s, Antarctica has been an increasingly popular tourist destination, despite the relative danger of visiting the largest, least explored -- and arguably least understood -- continent on earth. Beginning with the 1959 treaty establishing Antarctica as an international zone free of claims of sovereignty by nation's that had been instrumental in establishing research stations there, there has been almost constant negotiation about how

Cultural and Climate Effects on Human Evolution Cultural group selection's contribution to the progression of cooperation among humans is intensely contested. A majority of human behavior impacted by culturally diffused philosophies (including religious views) does not seem adaptively sensible. Whether or not strong socio-biological reasons are available for explaining such behavior marks the focal point of arguments between sociologists and critics of sociology. There are, in theory as well as (possibly)

Bipedalism – Human Evolution Introduction Human evolution takes into account the biotic as well as cultural development of humans. Human philosophies of the manner in which evolution of man came to be is ascertained by beliefs that have been espoused by scientists and societies dating as back as 400 decades ago. Human species, scientifically referred to as homo sapiens has extremely evolved in the last number of billion years. There have been

Poisoning Our Planet if It
PAGES 20 WORDS 8834

From the point-of-view of the variation and flexibility of the species such cultivated woody crops rank as no more than cornfields. While the tree farms are conveniently be stretched on the private lands, national forests those are considered priceless reservoirs of most of the biological diversity of the nation cannot expand so easily. The commercial logging is considered as the greatest danger for survival of the national forest system.