The document discusses key events in human evolution with a focus on Neanderthals and modern humans. It describes the emergence of Homo heidelbergensis around 500,000 years ago in Africa and notes evidence that modern human anatomy and behavior have deep roots in Africa dating back 150,000-200,000 years. The document also discusses evidence that Neanderthals and modern humans interbred, with present-day non-Africans having around 1-2% Neanderthal DNA, and the extinction of the Neanderthals around 30,000 years ago, possibly due to competition and interbreeding with modern humans.
2. Some “recent” events in
human evolution
‘Out of Africa 1’?
First humans in S. Europe?
Changes in glacial intensity
First humans in N. Europe/Britain?
Early Neanderthals in Europe
Homo sapiens ‘Out of Africa 2’
Homo sapiens in Africa
Neanderthals and “Hobbit” extinct
Homo heidelbergensis appears
Homo erectus in Africa
Homo erectus in Java & China
13. The evolution of
Modern Humans
and Neanderthals
(based on fossil and
genetic data)
Homo
heidelbergensis
~500,000 years
14. Lieberman
H. sapiens: fossils suggest an African origin for the modern
pattern ~ 150-200ka?
Age ka ~260 ~150? ~160? ~195? >130
Tim White
15. 300 ka 200 150 100 50 0
Omo Kibish Herto
Kapthurin
Twin Rivers
Twin Rivers
Pinnacle Point
Klasies Qafzeh
Klasies
Grotta Moscerini
Blombos
Blombos
Skhul
Taforalt
Enkapune
ya Muto
Enkapune
ya Muto
Howiesonspoort
Mumba
Microliths
Shellfishing
Ochre
Shell beads
Early H. sapiens
fossils
“Modern” anatomy and behaviour have deep roots in Africa…
18. 1987: Mitochondrial Eve hits the headlines!
Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution Nature 325, 31-36
Rebecca L. Cann, Mark Stoneking & Allan C. Wilson (1987)
African female ancestor
~200ka
27. What happened to the Neanderthals?
Continuity?
Evolved into the Cro-Magnons
Genetically absorbed
Extinction?
Interpopulation conflict
Demographic disadvantage
Competitive exclusion
Infectious diseases
Distinct physiologies/diets
Competition/fluctuating climates
Climate change
Part of megafaunal extinctions
29. Phylogenetic relationships and geographic
distribution of Neanderthals.
Recent (<48 kyr) western Neanderthals are placed
within a well-defined monophyletic group (blue
box), whereas specimens older than 48 kyr
constitute a paraphyletic group together with
eastern Neanderthals (red box).
Dalén et al. 2012: Partial genetic turnover in Neas Mol Biol Evolution
34. NEW DATA ON NEA %
Europeans ~ 1%
Chinese ~ 1.7%
(Meyer et al. Science 2012;Wall et al Genetics 2013)
Only one limited phase of interbreeding, then drift?
1st limited phase W. Asia + 2nd in Asia?
More widespread, but strong hybrid disadvantage?
35. A Proper Study for Mankind: analogies from the Papionin
Monkeys and their implications for Human Evolution
Clifford Jolly
The message is to concentrate on biology, avoid semantic traps, and realize
that any species-level taxonomy based on fossil material is going to be only
an approximate reflection of real-world complexities.
43. NEW DATA:
Europeans ~ 1%
Chinese ~ 1.7%
Meyer et al. Science 2012
Wall et al Genetics 2013
‘At least two separate episodes of admixture between Neanderthals and modern
humans must have occurred, and at least one of those episodes must have occurred
after the separation of the ancestors of modern Europeans and East Asians’
45. Thomas Higham , Laura Basell , Roger Jacobi , Rachel Wood , Christopher Bronk Ramsey , Nicholas J. Conard
Journal of Human Evolution Volume 62, Issue 6 2012 664 - 676
Simulated landscape used in our simulations. The union of the dark green and brown zones represents the conventionally assumed Neanderthal range (22) (scenario A′ in Table 1), whereas the violet zone represents a larger range, including the Altai Mountains, where Neanderthals remains have been identified recently. The brown zone represents an even more restricted area of potential hybridization in the Middle East (scenario A′′ in Table 1). The gray zone is the Himalayan range, where migrations have been disallowed. The dark green dot is an arbitrary place of origin for the expansion out of Africa, and the two red dots are the locations of the two samples where introgression is measured (Paris, France and Beijing, China). In our simulations, the continental areas have been divided into square cells (cell size = deme area = 100 × 100 km2) where a human population and a Neanderthal local population could potentially coexist, compete, and exchange migrants.
