Biology 1001A Chapter Notes - Chapter 18: Archaic Humans, Acheulean, Denisova Cave
Document Summary
2 main theories about dispersal of human ancestors from africa: african emergence hypothesis: proposes that modern humans first evolved in africa and then dispersed to other continents. Early hominin archaic humans descendants left africa, established populations in. 100 thousand 200 thousand years ago, h. sapiens arose in africa and migrated to europe/asia. Suggests that all modern humans are descended from fairly recent african ancestor: multiregional hypotheses: proposes that after archaic humans migrated from africa to many regions on earth, their different populations evolved into modern humans simultaneously. Suggests populations of h. erectus and archaic humans spread through europe/asia by 500 thousand years ago. Suggests modern humans (h. sapiens) evolved from descendants of these earlier dispersals. Geographically separated populations may have experienced some evolutionary differentiation. However, gene flow between them prevented reproductive isolation, maintained them as single species, h. sapiens. Flores isalnd, indonesia by 1 mya: humans occupied sites on highlands in new guinea about 49 thousand year ago.