Did Our Species Evolve in Subdivided Populations across Africa, and Why Does It Matter?

• Authors: Eleanor M.L. Scerri, University of Oxford; Mark G. Thomas, University College London; Andrea Manica, University of Cambridge; Philipp Gunz, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Jay T. Stock, University of Cambridge; Chris Stringer, The Natural History Museum, London; Matt Grove, University of Liverpool; Huw S. Groucutt, University of Oxford; Axel Timmermann, Institute for Basic Science; G. Philip Rightmire, Harvard University; Francesco d'Errico, Universite de Bordeaux; Christian A. Tryon, Harvard University; Nick A. Drake, King's College London; Alison S. Brooks, George Washington University; Robin W. Dennell, University of Exeter; Richard Durbin, University of Cambridge; Brenna M. Henn, University of California, Davis; Julia Lee-Thorp, University of Oxford; Peter deMenocal, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Michael D. Petraglia, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History; Jessica C. Thompson, Emory University; Aylwyn Scally, University of Cambridge; Lounes Chikhi, Universite Paul Sabatier Toulouse III
• Journal Title: Trends in Ecology and Evolution
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press) | 2018-01-01
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.05.005
• Subjects: Anthropology, Archaeology; Biology, Zoology; Biology, Genetics
• Keywords: human evolution; evolutionary genetics; paleoanthropology; paleoecology; Middle Stone Age; African origins

Abstract

We challenge the view that our species, Homo sapiens, evolved within a single population and/or region of Africa. The chronology and physical diversity of Pleistocene human fossils suggest that morphologically varied populations pertaining to the H. sapiens clade lived throughout Africa. Similarly, the African archaeological record demonstrates the polycentric origin and persistence of regionally distinct Pleistocene material culture in a variety of paleoecological settings. Genetic studies also indicate that present-day population structure within Africa extends to deep times, paralleling a paleoenvironmental record of shifting and fractured habitable zones. We argue that these fields support an emerging view of a highly structured African prehistory that should be considered in human evolutionary inferences, prompting new interpretations, questions, and interdisciplinary research directions.