"Humanity's forgotten return to Africa revealed in DNA" Topic

"Call it humanity's unexpected U-turn. One of the biggest events in the history of our species is the exodus out of Africa some 65,000 years ago, the start of Homo sapiens' long march across the world. Now a study of southern African genes shows that, unexpectedly, another migration took western Eurasian DNA back to the very southern tip of the continent 3000 years ago.

According to conventional thinking, the Khoisan tribes of southern Africa, have lived in near-isolation from the rest of humanity for thousands of years. In fact, the study shows that some of their DNA matches most closely people from modern-day southern Europe, including Spain and Italy.

Because Eurasian people also carry traces of Neanderthal DNA, the finding also shows – for the first time – that genetic material from our extinct cousin may be widespread in African populations…"

Full article here.
link

Now I'm confused! (smile).

Amicalement
Armand

Guess it shows that we are not that different. It is everything that happens after birth that cocks things up.

x2, Brian.

+1 to Brian

Must drive the racists crazy.

Dan

To me it just shows how little scientists know.

To me it just shows how little scientists know.

To me is shows how much we have to learn. That is a good thing.

"To me it just shows how little scientists know."

Yes, but we need links. Lots and lots of links, so….

Tosh.

Interesting stuff!

Migration of genes perhaps, but the article makes it sound like a mass movement of people from north to south – with a rather silly comment comparing to colonialism.

Nothing surprising about Eurasian genes in Ethiopia – the contacts down the Nile and across from Arabia are well documented. Evidence for a possible small scale genetic 'incursion' this far south has been known for almost twenty years – the Lemba of Zimbabwe and South Africa for instance.

The map concentrates on a Western Asia to East Africa route, but the text concentrates on the similarity with Western Med genotypes. IIRC, the Berbers share many of the same features. A route of gene migration via Berber contacts across the Sahara then through the Bantu seems feasible – the Bantu migrations may have helped if the introduction of the genes had been early enough.

"To me it just shows how little scientists know."
To me, it shows how capable scientists are of finding things out.

"To me it just shows how little scientists know."

Of course, it is entirely thanks to science that we realise how little we know.

It has been proposed that at least one "Out of Africa" migration by anatomically modern humans failed before 'Eve' & her friends made the successful transition.

I was interested to read the theory still has its opponents amongst quite respected scientists.

e.g. "Today most Chinese paleoanthropologists reject the widely accepted "recent out-of-Africa" or "recent single-origin" theory of human origin, advocating instead a multiregional model." (Leibold, 2012) This follows Wolpolff's views.

"To me it just shows how little scientists know."
To me, it shows how capable scientists are of finding things out.

My point, while being glib, was that we're told for years that 'this is what happened' then something like this comes along that changes the model. It's why I don't believe most of what I'm told without some seriously solid facts to back it up.

Glad you enjoyed it Skeptic. (smile).

Amicalement
Armand

I will take new knowledge and flexible models over inflexible dogma and embracing ignorance.
We will never know everything but as we learn more our models become better. That is the strength of science rather than a weakness.

I will take new knowledge and flexible models over inflexible dogma and embracing ignorance.
We will never know everything but as we learn more our models become better. That is the strength of science rather than a weakness.

Bingo.

Leland R. Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net