First of all, when we talk about the out-of-Africa hypothesis, which says that all the people of the planet are of African origin, we have to take into account some aspects that many people miss. Primo, this is not one episode, but two. From Africa 1 and 2 respectively.

On paper it is very simple. People went en masse to better worlds with more resources

The first one is a little simpler. He refers to the hypothetical migration of the first representatives of the Homo erectus species outside of Africa. This could have happened around 1.9 million years ago, shortly after the species appeared in the archaeological record. On paper it is very simple. Individuals of this species, being the most developed at that time, en masse went to better worlds with greater resources. So they occupied Asia, Europe and even the islands of South Asia in record time. Given the current level of archaeological discoveries, this thing stands. Hello!

Second, we have Out of Africa 2, and it’s strictly about the species Homo sapiens, which is ours. When did they leave Africa? Well, that’s where we have a problem, because no one knows exactly how to say. Please, through the scientific popularization press, you will constantly see established ideas, original guidelines from which everything begins. For example, man appeared in East Africa (or Northwest), there is Mitochondrial Eve (ie the mother of all humans) who lived in Africa about 120,000 years ago, and Homo sapiens successfully left Africa about 60,000 years ago. As I said, on paper they work very well. In practice, they do it less, and we will immediately explain this with a few ideas.

In all of Africa, North or Sub-Saharan, there are only about six places where we think Homo sapiens are older than 100,000 years

Let’s turn to the East or West African origin of Homo sapiens! As I already said in the previous article, not everyone in academia applauds the way the excavations were conducted there, and especially the results that emerged. We are talking about the famous site Omo Kibish. In fact, in all of Africa, North or sub-Saharan, there are only about six places where we believe Homo sapiens are older than 100,000 years. And absolutely all of them are controversial. Including in Jebel Irkhoud in Morocco. I will say in just a few words that the parking lot has been open since the 60s. It is about a mine.

Since then and until recently, the fossils discovered there were considered archaic, even Neanderthal. Absolutely all dating in time indicated a maximum age of the oldest fossils of 160,000 years. Only one, recently dated, and not the most accurate, shows an age of 300,000 years. Why did he just go for it? I could guess, but I don’t.

Also, far better documented than the sites in Africa are the sites in Israel, at Qafzah and Shula, which show episodes of Homo sapiens habitation for about 30,000 years. More precisely, from about 90,000 years ago to about 120,000 years ago. In addition, there is the site of Myslia, also in Israel, where there is a Homo sapiens about 200,000 years old with a bat in his hands.

Even more interesting is that these individuals in Israel have a material culture that is not found anywhere in Africa. It is about the Levantine Mustieri. That’s what he says to culture. Instead, it can be found in large quantities in the Neanderthal, who also lived there, that is, in the Middle East. And the out-of-Africa hypothesis doesn’t really apply to them, except for the failed attempts of Homo sapiens to leave Africa. It may be! But why they forgot their material culture from Egypt to Israel, i.e. about 400 kilometers, they don’t talk about it anymore.

Another flaw in the Out of Africa hypothesis is the reference to genetic research that suggests a mitochondrial Eve

I’m just going to throw out, as an idea, the fossils that have been confirmed, including by Western scientists, found in Fuyang, China. We still have Homo sapiens, still with proper documentation, from 120,000 years ago. minimum. There are tons of other sites that feature even older people. But very little is said about them. Maybe we’ll write an article with a full list of what’s out there.

And for now, we point to one more flaw in the exit from Africa hypothesis. And this refers to the genetic research that speaks of mitochondrial Eve. Well, in case you didn’t know, it was originally done in 1987 as part of the doctoral dissertation of a young woman named Rebecca L. Kann.

His problem, raised by many experts, apart from the fact that genetics was not that advanced at the time, was that he was referring to a sample of 147 people. A little bit Very little. In fact, simple math shows that given the number of people on the planet and the possible genetic combinations, she would have a choice of 10 to the power of 267. Rebecca only chose one.

Even the aforementioned researcher returned to the problem and emphasized that what was said is not a postulate. Vice versa. Hibe exists, and the idea that there was only one woman around 120,000 years ago is simply wrong. There were many more before and during her time. She managed to transfer only some genes with the greatest success. And it’s not very safe either. Well, let’s leave it at that.

As for the difference between the two hypothetical exodus from Africa, the world seems to overlook the huge difference of almost 2 million between them. A logical question would be: why did they stop migrating all this time? What prevented them from going everywhere, exchanging genes, exploring? The answer is simple, nothing stopped them, they did well, thank you. As for the Out of Africa 2 hypothesis, to be honest, it still needs work. The topic is much deeper and has much more detailed aspects. We can’t go through them all here because we don’t even finish the poimartas. But it is good to know, at least in small doses, that it is good to be a little skeptical and, if possible, take any information with a smile.

Bibliography:

• Cann, RL, Stoneking, M., Wilson, AC, 1987, Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution, Nature, no. 325, p. 31-36

• Bednaryk R.G., 2013, African Eve: Hypothesis Fraud?, Advances in Anthropology, Volume 3 No. 4, p. 216-228

• Klein, H.R., 1999, The Career of Man, 1 edition, Chicago University Press, 840 pages, ISBN 978-022643963

• Maddison DR, 1991, The African origin of human mitochondrial DNA revisited, Systematic Zoology, no. 40(3), p. 355–363