Dee Evertsen

ANTH-1020 MW
Reserch Paper

Theories of Modern Human Origins

The origin of Modern Humans is the most highly debated topic in the
paleoanthropologist world. Where did the modern human first appear? How did
they originate: from multiregional areas or from one single location? The Two
theories that are so hotly argued are the Multiregional Continuity Model and the Out
of Africa Model. So what theory has the most weight of being correct? I will attempt
to give clear understanding of both models and a conclusion describing my thoughts
to the question posed.

The Multiregional Continuity Model contends that the modern human

evolved after Homo erectus left Africa and migrated into other areas of the Old
World.1 Slowly evolving to Homo neanderthalensis and then into Homo sapiens was
not restricted to one area but was a geographical event that spanned where humans
lived. We associate this model mostly with Milford Wolpoff, an American
Paleoanthropologist form the University of Michigan. The model explains that due
to natural selection and gene flow (migration) between geographic areas there is no
origin to modern humans rather that there was a greater evolution across
multiregional area.

The Out of Africa Model claims that modern humans evolved in Africa then
migrated into Eurasia.1 After Homo erectus left Africa and migrated into different
populations they became isolated, evolving independently. Out of this reproductive
isolation came H. neanderthalensis and H. heidelbergensis. The two mentioned are so

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ANTH-1020 MW
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far unalike H. sapiens that they are classified as separate species.3 Therefore they
had very little interbreeding. Once H. sapiens migrated out of Africa they replaced
all other human populations. This model is also referred to as the Replacement
Model. In recent years the replacement model has become more widely recognized
in the anthropological academics.

With such differences in anatomical structure it gives evidence that the

Neanderthals and early modern humans where isolated and evolved separately.
Some distinguishing features that separate the two species are the cranial vault and
the build of the skeleton. The Neanderthal has a low cranial vault with a welldeveloped double-arched browridge, where as the early sapiens have cranial vault
with a vertical forehead, rounded occipital and reduced browridge. The skeletal
structure different as well, N. being short in stature, robustly built and thick walled
limb bones. Early sapiens had more modern, less robustly built skeletons.3 More
evidence has shown that the Genetic make up of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens
are so different that interbreeding did not occur. DNA shows differences between
Neanderthals and modern humans. Neanderthal mtDNA also differed from that of anatomically
modern Homo sapiens from the same time period. 2
Strong evidence that the first modern humans came out of Africa comes from
the studies of the DNA and the mtDNA. The work of Cann and Wilson express the
largest gene frequency differences are between Africans and other populations,
suggesting an African origin for the human nuclear gene pool4 More of their
research gives evidence that Asian erectus DNA does not have any ties to modern

Dee Evertsen
ANTH-1020 MW
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Asians, they therefore propose that erectus in Asia was replaced, with little to none,
interbreeding from the invading Homo sapiens from Africa.

With all of the evidence found in the DNA studies there leaves little room to
argue that the origin of modern Homo sapiens came out of Africa. By this I also
must raise the thought that there had to be an evolutionary processes that
happened in Africa that created the specific outcome of the modern man. To what
the conditions were I have not found any studies that explain or give evidence of
what might have happened to create the environment to which Homo erectus
evolved into H. sapiens only in Africa and not in other parts of the world. Therefore
it becomes a task to explain that the conditions only happened in Africa. It is my
understanding the Out of Africa Model has more supporting evidence, yet it cannot
explain how or why the conditions were excusive to that area and not to a
multiregional geographical area.

Dee Evertsen
ANTH-1020 MW
Reserch Paper

1. Jurmain, Kilgore, & Trevathan. (2013). The origin and dispersal of

modern humans. In Human origins evolution and diversity (9th ed.).
Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
2. Interbreeding? (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/genetics/ancient-dna-andneanderthals/interbreeding
3. Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa? (n.d.).
Retrieved December 3, 2014, from
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html
4. Cann, R.L., M. Stoneking, and A.C. Wilson. 1987. Mitochondrial DNA
and human evolution. Nature, 325:35.