Human
Humans are known as Homo sapiens[1]. As a species, there are a number of different hypothesis' as to the origin of Homo sapiens and their historical descent. One of these, and arguably the most well-supported theories through mitochondrial experimental research is the 'Out of Africa Hypothesis'. The theory that argues that every living human being descended from a small group of Homo sapien (abbreviated Hss) individuals in Africa, who then dispersed into the wider world meeting and displacing earlier forms such as Neanderthals and Denisovans[2].
An opposing theory of the origin of modern humans is called the 'Multiregional Model'. Based on paleoanthropological data, it argues that populations Homo erectus moved out of Africa thousands of years ago and gradually evolved into H. sapiens. The collection of genetic evidence since the 1980s has now concluded that this hypothesis is false, and that H. sapiens diverged from Africa between 50,000 and 62,000 years ago[3].
Reference
- ↑ Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, what does it mean To Be Human. Available from: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens
- ↑ Article title: What Do the Discoveries of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA in Us Mean? Website title: ThoughtCo URL: https://www.thoughtco.com/out-of-africa-hypothesis-172030
- ↑ ThoughtCo. Multiregional Hypothesis - Did humans evolve several times? 2017 [cited 04/12/2017] Available from: https://www.thoughtco.com/multiregional-hypothesis-167235