1. The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
Chapter 11
The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans

2. Homo sapiens H. sapiens All contemporary hominin populations
Vertical Foreheads
Pyramidal mastoid process
Point of attachment for several muscles
Canine fossa
Depression on the outer surface that allows for greater muscle control in non-verbal communication

3. Questions About the Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans
When (approximately) did modern humans first appear?
Where did the transition take place?
What was the pace of evolutionary change? How quickly did the transition occur?
How did the dispersal of modern humans to other areas of the Old World (outside of their area of origin) take place?

4. Homo sapiens
Most paleoanthropologists agree that fossil forms dating back as far as 100,000 ya should be included in the same fully modern group as modern humans
Models of Human Origins:
Multiregional Evolution
“Out-of-Africa” Models

5. Multiregional Evolution
Populations, connected by gene flow, in Europe, Asia, and Africa continued evolutionary development from archaic H. sapiens to anatomically modern humans
Associated with paleoanthropologist Milford Wolpoff of the University of Michigan

6. Complete Replacement Model
Proposes anatomically modern populations arose in Africa in the last 200,000 years
They migrated from Africa, completely replacing premodern populations in Europe and Asia
Does not account for the transition from premodern forms to H. sapiens anywhere except Africa
Developed by British paleoanthropologists Christopher Stringer and Peter Andrews

7. Partial Replacement Model
Various perspectives suggest that modern humans originated in Africa and then, when their population increased, expanded out of Africa into other areas of the Old World
This model claims that interbreeding occurred between emigrating Africans and resident premodern populations

8. Class Activity: Evaluating the Models
Discuss three types of evidence
Morphology in time and space
Genetics
Archaeological
What patterns do you think would support each of the three models just profiled?
In this activity, ask the class to think of the kind of data they would expect that would support the various models.

9. Time Line of Modern Homo Sapiens Discoveries: What do the Data Say?

10. Early Homo sapiens Discoveries From Africa and the Near East
Dates
Site
Hominind
Evolutionary Significance
195,000 ya
Omo Ethiopia
H. sapiens
Oldest modern human; two crania found, one
more modern looking than the other
154, ,000 ya
Herto
Ethiopia
idaltu
Well-preserved cranium; best-preserved early modern human found anywhere

11. Early Homo sapiens Discoveries From Africa and the Near East
Dates
Site
Hominin
Evolutionary Significance
115,000 ya
Skhul Israel
H. sapiens
sapiens
Minimum of 10 individuals; earliest modern humans known outside of Africa
110,000 ya
Qafzeh
Israel
Large sample; modern, but some individuals fairly robust; early date

12. Herto Cranium Herto cranium from Ethiopia, dated 160,000–154,000 ya.
Adult
Mosaic of modern and premodern traits
Very large and long cranial vault
1450 cm3
Large, arching browridge and projecting occipital protuberance
H. sapiens idaltu
“idaltu” is the Afar word for “elder”

13. Specimens From Israel Skhül 5. (a) 130,000-100,000 ya Qafzeh 6 (b)
Modern traits
Vault height
Forehead
Lack of prognathism
Contemporary with Neandertals in Region

14. Key Early Modern Homo sapiens from Europe and Asia
Dates
Site
Hominin
Evolutionary Significance
40,000 ya
Tianyuan Cave
Beijing, China
H. sapiens
sapiens
Partial skull and a few postcranial bones; oldest modern human find from China
40,000-45,000 ya
Niah Cave
Borneo, Indonesia
Partial skull; oldest modern human find from Asia

15. Key Early Modern Homo sapiens from Europe and Asia
Dates
Site
Hominin
Evolutionary Significance
30,000 ya
Cro-Magnon
France
H. sapiens
sapiens
Most famous early modern human find; earliest evidence of modern humans in France
24,500 ya
Abrigo do Lagar Velho
Portugal
Child’s skeleton; possible hybrid of Neandertal and modern human, it is controversial

16. Geography of Modern Humans in East Asia and Australia

17. Australia 50,000 ya modern humans inhabited Sahul
Area including New Guinea and Australia
Lake Mungo, SE Australia 30,000-25,000 ya
Kow Swamp 14,000-9,000 ya
Fossils with archaic features
Receding foreheads
Heavy supraorbital tori
Browridge
Thick bones

18. Geography of Modern Humans in Europe

19. Mladec and Dolní Crania
The Mladec (a) and Dolní Věstonice (b) crania from the Czech Republic
Good examples of early modern Homo sapiens in central Europe
Along with Oase in Romania, the evidence for early modern H. sapiens appears first in central Europe, then later in western Europe

20. Cro-Magnon I Cro-Magnon I (France) European Upper Paleolithic
Approx 40,000 ya
Modern traits are clear
Robustly built and powerful
Cranial capacity around 1,600 cc
(a) Lateral view, (b) Frontal view

21. Neandertal/H. sapiens Admixture
Abrigo do Lagar Velho
“hybrid” child
Recent Genetic comparisons of Neandertal DNA and contemporary humans
Populations outside of Africa typically have more Neandertal DNA
Refutes hypotheses of complete replacement of the Neanderthals by early modern humans

22. Comparing Skulls Homo Sapiens Neandertals
The next few slides could contain images of Neandertal skulls paired with the ones profiled in Chapter 11. The goal could be to get students to identify those traits that are criteria for identification as H. sapiens. Not only would this reinforce taxonomic distinctions, but would also illustrate the continuous nature of morphological variation and that lines between species, especially fossil ones are blurry.

23. Homo floresiensis Indonesian island of Flores in 2004
Originally dated to 95,000 to 13,000 years ago
New estimates until 50,000 years ago
Archaic Homo survived much longer than expected
Well into the lifespan of AMH
Taxonomy
Skull slightly smaller than chimpanzees
Stood 3 feet tall
Probably could not run
Big feet, stubby big toe
History
H. erectus arrives in Flores 840,000 years ago
Controlled fire and used stone tools more sophisticated than H. erectus
Influenced by same evolutionary forces that led to smaller species of elephant on the island
Some groups wiped out by volcanic activity on the island

24. Location of the Flores Site, Indonesia

25. Cultural Periods of the European Upper Paleolithic

26. World of the Upper Paleolithic
Variable and sometimes resource-rich environment
Larger populations aggregations
Technology
More efficient use of stone
Bone, ivory and antler become more widely used raw materials
Spear throwers

27. Innovations in Symbols
More investment in grave offerings
Variable social status reflected in grave offerings
Over-designed artifacts
Figurines
Cave images

28. African Finds Apollo 11 Blombos Cave Pinnacle Point 28,000-26,000 ya