origin of humans; tracing early migration patterns (Origins)

by David Turell , Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 18:48 (178 days ago) @ David Turell

Using open and riparian areas:

https://phys.org/news/2024-05-environmental-conditions-early-humans-migrated.html

"The Out of Africa theory suggests that more than 70,000 years ago, some groups left Africa to spread across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. However, it remains unclear how much the environment they encountered beyond Africa facilitated or hindered their journey.

"Researchers combined climate models, genetic data, and archaeological evidence to examine how regional environmental conditions influenced migration and to re-establish our long-lasting connection to nature.

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"'The first human migrants favored routes that provided essential resources and facilitated travel, as well as regions with a mix of forests and open areas for shelter and food, while allowing them to expand into new territories," Dr. Saltré said.

"In Europe, humans likely first spread from the Fertile Crescent through the Caucasus Mountains into Scandinavia approximately 48,300 years ago and Western Europe around 44,100 years ago, following warmer and wetter conditions.

"In northern Asia, migration routes followed major rivers to cope with harsher climates before reaching Beringia, a currently submerged land bridge between Siberia and Alaska, approximately 34,700 years ago.

"In North America, humans initially migrated along the Pacific coast around 16,000 years ago, and then approximately 3,000 years later, moved inland through the ice-free corridor by the Mackenzie River.

In South America, migration followed wetter grasslands bordering the Amazon, leveraging connectivity provided by major rivers by 14,800 years ago.

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"He said, "Knowing where people first trekked beyond the cradle of human evolution gives us a flavor of how adaptable our early ancestors were, what environmental challenges they faced, and how they overcame them and survived. We can also infer the technological innovations that were at play during those times—such as watercraft, clothing, and other tools—that allowed people to exploit the most hostile environments.'"

Comment: Why did we migrate? Did we use up the resources to force a move or were we just curious about what was over the next set of hills? This doesn't tell us, but the direction is North and then East, which strongly suggests curiosity.