There's No Single Cradle of Humankind

PBS Eons・2 minutes read

The search for the origins of humankind led scientists on a global quest, from early theories of lost continents to fossil discoveries in Africa supporting an African origin for human lineage. Genetic evidence in the last 30 years has confirmed the Out of Africa hypothesis, tracing human origins to Africa and the emergence of Homo sapiens around 300,000 years ago.

Insights

  • The search for the cradle of humankind led to diverse theories, including an Asian or Lemurian origin, but Charles Darwin's argument for an African origin based on similarities with primates eventually gained support with fossil discoveries in Africa, solidifying the idea of human lineage originating on the continent.
  • Fossil discoveries in Africa, dating back millions of years, and genetic evidence from the last three decades have overwhelmingly supported the Out of Africa hypothesis, establishing Africa as the birthplace of Homo sapiens and highlighting the interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans in Eurasia as crucial to human evolution.

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Recent questions

  • Where did scientists believe human origins were located?

    Africa

  • What did Charles Darwin predict in 1859?

    Evolution

  • When did the emergence of Homo sapiens occur?

    300,000 years ago

  • What did the fossil discoveries in Africa, Asia, and Europe leave open?

    Question of human origins

  • What did genetic evidence confirm in the last 30 years?

    Out of Africa hypothesis

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Summary

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Human Origins: From Africa to Everywhere

  • In the early 1920s, a fossil hunting team from the American Museum of Natural History in the GOI desert discovered dinosaur remains, which was a disappointment as they were actually searching for fossils of the earliest humans.
  • Scientists worldwide were hunting for the cradle of humankind, with theories ranging from Europe to Southeast Asia to imaginary lost continents due to the lack of knowledge on where to find ancient human origins.
  • Charles Darwin's prediction in 1859 about evolution shedding light on human history was hindered by the absence of fossil evidence, leading to speculation on where to search for human ancestors.
  • Early theories suggested human lineage might have originated in Asia or on a now sunken continent named Lemuria in the Indian Ocean, but Darwin argued for an African origin due to similarities with chimpanzees and gorillas.
  • Fossil discoveries in Africa, Asia, and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries left the question of human origins open until fossils from South Africa in 1924 supported the idea of an African origin for human lineage.
  • Fossils like Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Ardipithecus ramidus in Africa, dating back to around 6-7 million years ago, and Australopithecus genus around 4 million years ago, provided evidence for human evolution in Africa.
  • Genetic evidence in the last 30 years confirmed the Out of Africa hypothesis, tracing human origins to Africa, with interbreeding with Neanderthals and Denisovans in Eurasia, leading to the emergence of Homo sapiens around 300,000 years ago.
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