Scientists Recount How DNA Enriches Our Understanding Of Human History
Monday, February 22, 2010 - 13:14
in Paleontology & Archaeology
In recent years, DNA evidence has added important new tools for scientists studying the human past, and a collection of reviews published in a recent issue of Current Biology offers a timely update on how new genetic evidence, together with archaeological and linguistic evidence, has enriched our understanding of human history. The journey started around 60 to 70 thousand years ago in Africa, where modern humans evolved more than 150 thousand years ago, and where human diversity is still the highest among all continents in terms of genetic variation and languages. From there, humans settled Europe and South Asia and reached Oceania. The Americas (apart from the remote Oceanian islands) were settled last. read more