​The first Homo sapiens to leave Africa are not exactly what you might think ● We don’t know when the first kiss appeared, but it was accompanied by problems ● Man became the most important factor in evolution on the planet

The first Homo sapiens to leave Africa are not quite what you might think

The problem of human evolution and migrations was and remains complex, despite the clear consensus in the scientific community. And when I say consensus, I mean exactly the “Out of Africa 2” hypothesis, which says that Homo sapiens evolved somewhere in eastern or southern Africa about 200,000 years ago, then migrated about 60,000 years ago, first colonizing Asia and Australia , then Europe and America.

This hypothesis actually has many flaws. Lots of things that don’t connect. And one of those aspects has just arrived, although how it was interpreted to fit Out of Africa 2 still leaves a lot to be desired. Let me explain.

According to the accepted hypothesis, the first great migration out of Africa, “Out of Africa 1”, should have taken place about 1.9 million years ago and had Homo erectus at the forefront. From then until 60,000 years ago, no one thought about migration. In fact, it is then that Out of Africa 2 takes place, the main episode, the main character of which is Homo sapiens.

Homo sapiens, which is said to have appeared either through Ethiopia, or through South Africa, or through Morocco, although the latter version is far-fetched. In addition, also through Ethiopia, and two steps from the place where Homo sapiens would have appeared, the subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu would also have appeared.

The research I mentioned at the beginning is by a group of geneticists from the University of California and was published in the journal Nature. It says that the genetic traces of not one ancestral African population have been found, but of two different populations that have exchanged genes over time. In addition, they have an origin that goes back 400,000 years, long before the appearance of the species Homo sapiens.

The icing on the cake of the study’s findings is that the populations in question gave rise to an admixed group whose descendants left Africa between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. Given that the presence of Homo sapiens is well documented archaeologically 200,000 years ago in the Middle East and about the same age in China, not to mention the presence of H. sapiens, more recently, in Europe, almost 60,000 years ago, it is clear that still there are aspects that just don’t fit.

The very idea of ​​two different groups defies the hypothesis of linear evolution that Out of Africa 2 advocated from the start. An alternative called the “multiregional hypothesis,” which posits that there was no single Eden for the human species, but many points where individuals evolved, interbred, and shared genes, is still considered cinderella. And this, at least, could fully explain the case of two different African species.

We don’t know when the first kiss appeared, but it came with problems

Kissing, as a practice in itself, is an act whose origins may never be revealed. There are researchers who say it may even have ape origins, given that bonobos and chimpanzees practice it. Others say it’s a learned behavior, and its origins are much later than we imagine.

Attention, today we are talking about a romantic kiss, not a friendly-parental kiss. The latter is found in all cultures of the world, while the former is somewhat less common. This is also the subject of an interesting study recently published in the journal Science, a study co-authored by two Danish researchers, one from the University of Copenhagen, the other from Oxford.

They started from the idea that kissing is a way of transmitting pathogens that lead to the spread of herpes. So they began looking for evidence of a possible resurgence of this infection, evidence that might give them a clue as to the origin of the practice of kissing. And they found them.

In particular, it refers to cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia, dating from 3,800 years ago to 4,500 years ago, which talk about a romantic kiss. In addition, 4,500 years ago, a disease called busanu is also mentioned, the descriptions of which are strikingly similar to herpes.

The authors also cite another study that looked at the transfer of oral bacteria from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens 100,000 years ago (above, by the way, doesn’t that contradict Out of Africa 2?), which suggests that the two species may have kissed more. often in prehistory than we thought.

In conclusion, say the Danish researchers, kissing is most likely an ancient practice. The one who not only showed us affection for each other but also filled us with herpes and other infections from time to time. On the other hand, this practice was already widespread in Mesopotamia and Egypt 4500 years ago. And the fact that they had commercial connections with areas that reached as far as India could tell us that the exchange of passions and germs was common even at the dawn of antiquity.

Man has become the most important evolutionary factor of the planet

The study, also published in Science, in which a huge number of researchers participated (287 from 26 countries and 160 cities), practically the largest profile study ever conducted, shows us that man is currently the most important evolutionary factor on the planet.

In this case, experts analyzed common clover (Trifolium repens), a plant native to Eurasia, but which has spread throughout the world. More than 100,000 samples were collected from all over the world and analyzed by experts.

In this way, it was possible to observe that the subspecies living in cities are practically identical, regardless of where they were collected. The same cannot be said for those who live in forests or on farms, and who show distinct differences created by the traditional drivers of evolution…environment, climate, and so on.

In essence, experts say, this is a classic model of parallel adaptive evolution, in which individual populations acquire similar traits even if they live in different territories. And it shows that the way humans have changed the environment is an evolutionary factor with a much greater impact than might be expected.

The conclusion that the researchers made is beautiful, even gentle, but it is unlikely to be put into practice in the near future. Namely, knowing that we already have this power over nature, let’s try to change it so that it is beneficial for both her and us.

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