Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:37:32 -0700 (PDT), in sci.archaeology, Jack
Linthicum wrote:

On Mar 18, 6:53 pm, "benli...@xxxxxxxxxx" <benli...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mar 19, 9:02 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:



On Mar 18, 3:47 pm, "benli...@xxxxxxxxxx" <benli...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mar 19, 1:25 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mar 18, 8:07 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mar 17, 5:29 pm, "benli...@xxxxxxxxxx" <benli...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mar 18, 10:12 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On Mar 17, 4:59 pm, "benli...@xxxxxxxxxx" <benli...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Mar 17, 10:47 pm, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Picture at cite

Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

March 14, 2008 -- Modern humans are known to have left Africa in a
wave of migration around 50,000 years ago, but another, smaller group
-- possibly a different subspecies -- left the continent 50,000 years
earlier, suggests a new study.

While all humans today are related to the second "out of Africa"
group, it's likely that some populations native to Israel, Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia retain genetic
vestiges of the earlier migrants, according to the paper's author,
Michael Schillaci.

Schillaci, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences
at the University of Toronto, also found the earlier group of
emigrants had some genetic similarity to Neanderthals, a hominid that
left Africa much earlier, settling in Europe and parts of western and
central Asia.

"This could be the byproduct of limited [interbreeding] with
Neanderthals, or a shared more recent common ancestry with
Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. "Humans and Neanderthals share
a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. However,
Neanderthals evolved in Europe, while modern humans evolved in
Africa."

For the study, he calculated genetic similarity by comparing
measurements of the cranium, the part of the skull that encloses the
brain. In addition to actual DNA testing, researchers often use such
skull measurements to establish relationships between ancient human
groups.

Schillaci examined fossils representing at least 28 modern and
prehistoric human populations.

The earliest known individuals from the Near East, he found, were
genetically similar to the earliest individuals from Australia, New
Zealand and Indonesia. All modern-day humans are more similar to
Europeans who lived between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago -- after the
second wave from Africa.

"The most likely explanation...is that the expansion out of Africa
that was ancestral to the early Australasians occurred before the well-
accepted expansion at around 50,000 years ago that led to the
colonization of Europe," he said, adding that the first populations
out of Africa were later "swamped genetically by the subsequent larger
expansion."

Based on the findings, which have been accepted for publication in the
Journal of Human Evolution, he concludes the first human group to have
left Africa "may well have been a separate subspecies" of modern
human.

Prior research could support that contention. At an Ethiopian village
called Herto, archaeologists recently found fossils of individuals who
were more robust than modern humans. They date to 154,000 to 160,000
years ago.

Erik Trinkaus, a professor of physical anthropology at Washington
University in St. Louis, thinks the new paper "is an interesting
analysis," but he told Discovery News that he hopes it will be redone
with more fossils, "a better set of measurements and with the caveat
that there is a huge (time) gap between his relevant samples."

Schillaci neglected one of the earliest known Southeast Asian humans
in his study, noted Trinkaus.

This individual "predates the Australian fossils and is the only
relevant fossil that we have between Israel and Indonesia for the
relevant time period," he explained, adding that "we have no relevant
fossils between 100,000 and 30,000 from the Levant [Near East] and
Australia to sort out what might have been happening there."

Chris Stringer, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in
London, however, expressed fewer reservations.

"This is a very interesting and important study that provides much
food for thought," Stringer told Discovery News. "It revisits in more
detail and with new approaches something which several researchers
have previously noted -- certain early modern samples...seem closer to
very early H. sapiens in Israel and Africa than to other early modern
samples around the world."

Stinger isn't yet convinced that the Ethiopian fossils and early
Australian/Indonesian individuals provide evidence of a new human
subspecies. The rigors of dealing with prehistoric life might have
simply resulted in sturdier bodies.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/14/neanderthal-africa.html

This is a press release of "accepted for publication" findings,
apparently. It does not appear to be in the March 2008 issue of J.
Hum.Ev., so I guess we'll have to wait for fuller details. From a
purely parochial point of view, of course, I would want to know what
New Zealand skull(s) he has in his comparison, since the oldest would
be 1,000 years old, if that. "Huge time gap", indeed!

Ross Clark

More likely Schillaci. is talking about characteristics found in New
Zealand skulls that similar to those of the earliest known individuals
from the Near East.

More likely than what? That's what I thought he was talking about. But
what sort of historical scenario would account for these
characteristics turning up again in NZ 49,000 years later?

Ross Clark

Heredity

Example, roughly twice the time span

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/24/china.archaeology

[snip]
I'm not sure what the relevance of that story is to the present
question.
And "heredity" is not a historical scenario.
If some genetic connection is being suggested between people living ca.
50 kya in Israel, Indonesia, Australia, and people living ca.1 kya in
NZ, I would like to know where the intervening hundreds of generations
lived? Should we expect to find the same features in Polynesian and
Melanesian skulls? I guess we have to wait for the published version
to see just what he is comparing.

Ross Clark

Last I heard "heredity" was how you got from one generation to the
next.

Quite. And that is not a historical scenario, any more than
"Dialogue" is a theatrical scenario.
A scenario would include at least something about "who", "where" and
"when".
He seems to be sketching something when he refers to "early
Australasians". But if by that he means the people who reached
Australia/New Guinea ca.50 kya, those people did not reach New
Zealand. There is absolutely no trace of human beings in NZ anywhere
near that date. So my question, again, is: where was all this
"heredity" going on for 49.000 years?

Ross Clark



Ancient lineage of modern humans
posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 | 2 comments
Journal of Human Evolution (Article in Press) doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.
2007.10.010

Human cranial diversity and evidence for an ancient lineage of modern
humans

Michael A. Schillaci

Abstract

This study examines the genetic affinities of various modern human
groupings using a multivariate analysis of morphometric data.
Phylogenetic relationships among these groupings are also explored
using neighbor-joining analysis of the metric data. Results indicate
that the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene fossils from Australasia
exhibit a close genetic affinity with early modern humans from the
Levant. Furthermore, recent human populations and Upper Paleolithic
Europeans share a most recent common ancestor not shared with either
the early Australasians or the early Levantine humans. This pattern of
genetic and phylogenetic relationships suggests that the early modern
humans from the Levant either contributed directly to the ancestry of
an early lineage of Australasians, or that they share a recent common
ancestor with them. The principal findings of the study, therefore,
lend support to the notion of an early dispersal from Africa by a more
ancient lineage of modern human prior to 50 ka, perhaps as early as
OIS 5 times (76-100 ka).

Obviously not in your head, which seems to be filled with a lot of
desire for thought.

I think you will find, if you can read it, the article about the
Chinese skull will get you from 80-100,000 bp to the present
population of China.

The physical traits that have led this person to reach his conclusions
don't require your comprehension, thank goodness.

Ross doesn't deserve this sort of treatment from you, Jack.
I'm a bit surprised at your response.
Doug
--
Doug Weller --
A Director and Moderator of The Hall of Ma'at http://www.hallofmaat.com
Doug's Archaeology Site: http://www.ramtops.co.uk
Amun - co-owner/co-moderator http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Amun/

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
    ... Lebanon, Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia retain genetic ... Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. ... a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. ... were more robust than modern humans. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
    ... Lebanon, Syria, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia retain genetic ... Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. ... a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. ... were more robust than modern humans. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
    ... Neanderthals, or a shared more recent common ancestry with ... Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. ... a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. ... were more robust than modern humans. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
    ... Neanderthals, or a shared more recent common ancestry with ... Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. ... a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. ... were more robust than modern humans. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
  • Re: Out of Africa, Not Once But Twice
    ... Neanderthals, or a shared more recent common ancestry with ... Neanderthals," he told Discovery News. ... a common Homo ancestor in Africa at around 500,000 years ago. ... were more robust than modern humans. ...
    (sci.archaeology)
Quantcast