Early humans began in southern Africa, study suggests

Modern humans may have originated from southern Africa, an extensive genetic study has suggested.

Data showed that hunter-gatherer populations in the region had the greatest degree of genetic diversity, which is an indicator of longevity.

It says that the region was probably the best location for the origin of modern humans, challenging the view that we came from eastern Africa.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations," the international team of researchers wrote.

"But the details of human prehistory and evolution in Africa remain largely obscure owing to the complex histories of hundreds of distinct populations." ...

Co-author Brenna Henn, from Stanford University, California, said the team's study - the most comprehensive of its kind - reached two main conclusions.

"One is that there is an enormous amount of diversity in African hunter-gatherer populations, even more diversity than there is in agriculturalist populations," she told BBC News.

"These hunter/gatherer groups are highly structured and are fairly isolated from one another and probably retain a great deal of different genetic variations - we found this very exciting." ...

via BBC News - Early humans began in southern Africa, study suggests.