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Human Evolution Out of Africa: The Role of Refugia and Climate Change

Although an African origin of the modern human species is generally accepted, the evolutionary processes involved in the spedation, geographical spread, and eventual extinction of archaic humans outside of Africa are much debated. An additional complexity has been the recent evidence of limited inte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2012-03, Vol.335 (6074), p.1317-1321
Main Authors: Stewart, J. R., Stringer, C. B.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Although an African origin of the modern human species is generally accepted, the evolutionary processes involved in the spedation, geographical spread, and eventual extinction of archaic humans outside of Africa are much debated. An additional complexity has been the recent evidence of limited interbreeding between modern humans and the Neandertals and Denisovans. Modern human migrations and interactions began during the buildup to the Last Glacial Maximum, starting about 100,000 years ago. By examining the history of other organisms through glacial cycles, valuable models for evolutionary biogeography can be formulated. According to one such model, the adoption of a new refugium by a subgroup of a species may lead to important evolutionary changes.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1215627