** A groundbreaking genetic study is overturning the long-held belief that all modern humans descended from a single African population.
📍 ** Southern Africa (Nama People of Namibia)
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A new, sweeping genetic analysis is challenging the traditional narrative of human origins, suggesting a far more intricate beginning. The research, published in Nature in 2023, reveals that early human groups spread across Africa and mixed extensively for millennia before their genetic differences became apparent in modern populations. This study paints a picture of a continent-wide evolutionary web, rather than a simple family tree.
The research team, led by Brenna Henn of UC Davis and Simon Gravel of McGill University, compared current genetic material from African populations with fossil evidence of early *Homo sapiens*. The analysis included genome data from southern, eastern, and western Africa, and crucially, utilized data from 44 newly sequenced genomes of modern Nama individuals. This unique population, known for its unusually high genetic diversity, provided a vital key to understanding the complex processes of human evolution.
The analysis indicated that the initial population split among early humans occurred approximately 120,000 to 135,000 years ago, following centuries of gene exchange between two or more distinct groups. Even after the split, continued movement and interbreeding maintained a “weakly structured stem,” implying that modern humans arose from a loosely connected network of populations with ongoing genetic exchange – a truly intricate and interwoven story of human origins.
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Original Source: Link
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