New Findings on Deep Human History
Posted: June 13, 2008
On April 25, 2008, Science Daily published a report, “Early Populations Evolved Separately for 100,000 Years”, that added significant new findings to existing knowledge about Homo sapiens history prior to the migrations out of Africa starting around sixty thousand years ago. An international team of researchers has analyzed a sample of over 600 complete mitochondrial DNA genomes from populations across Africa. This analysis has found that early human populations in Africa were small and isolated from each other for many tens of thousands of years. This is important because the isolation of small populations is known to speed up the genetic evolutionary process. This finding, when combined with earlier ones, serves to provide more detail and reinforcement of the historical account of deep human history presented in Chapters 4 and 5 of Being Human.
In commenting on the study, Dr. Spencer Wells, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and Director of the Genographic Project, said:
This new study released today illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species’ history. Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA.
Paleontologist Meave Leakey, Genographic Advisory Board member, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and Research Professor, Stony Brook University, added:
Who would have thought that as recently as 70,000 years ago, extremes of climate had reduced our population to such small numbers that we were on the very edge of extinction.
The time line of deep human history presented by the team of genographic researchers, led by Doron Behar, Genographic Associate Researcher, based at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, and Saharon Rosset of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, NY and Tel Aviv University, can be summarized as follows:
The researchers comment in the article on three critical changes in the behavior of H. sapiens that they hypothesize emerged particularly during the period of group isolation:
1. Marked changes in the material culture.
2. Development of complex spoken language.
3. Development of abstract thought.
In terms of RD theory all three of these changes would be manifestations of the development of an independent drive to comprehend as discussed in some detail in Chapter 4 of Being Human.
RD theory would also add that the separation and isolation of these environmentally stressed tribal groups would also be the conditions that would tend to induce tight bonding among all members of each tribal group and the related development of a moral sense, as hypothesized in Being Human in Chapter 5.
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