Aboriginal Anthropomorphy Seems Out Of Place - Pronounced Primate Features?

Question

If the basic premise is that man, after evolving from apes migrated from Africa, through Europe, then Asia and then to Australia - and if through that progression the primate like features such as waterproof skin, broad noses, pronounced brow ridges and a generally "ape-like" caste is diminished by distance from the source and time - how is it that Australian Aboriginals appear to have a throwback to an ape-like appearance? They have been in Australia for about 40,000 years. Is their evolution divergent or have they somehow lost the genetic progression from their nearest neighbours, the apparent source of their stock - Asians have very few throwback featrues at all.

Answer 1

You have to remember that evolution has no 'goal,' in that it does not aim for any particular outcome. What you call a 'throwback' is no throwback at all - it is evolution's response to having an organism placed in that environment.

So, we all know that at some point in history, the eye emerged...does this mean that blind newts in caves are 'throwbacks?' Not at all, it just means they have adapted to their environment.

One would not expect two different populations of humans to proceed in the same direction - in fact, one would suspect the opposite! Two different locations means two different environments, which means evolution is driven in two different directions for either group.

Great question! Hope my answer was at least a little enlightening.

Answer 2

I assume that the aboriginal people had a very small genetic pool to  begin with so any features that you mentioned would be reinforced by inbreeding.

Answer 3

There's the suspicion that the Aborigines may have interbred with an older wave of emigrants from Africa that are now ethnically extinct. Or a Homo Erectus sub species that they encountered in, or en route to, Australia.

The reason for thinking this is that one old Aboriginal set of bones dated at about 40k years old (Mungo man) has a mitochondrial DNA type massively diverged from any found so far in modern humans, in age it's fairly close in time to when we split from the Neanderthals. It's pre Mitochondrial Eve. They may well have picked up some of their racial quirks like heavy brows and blond hair from interbreeding with the other sapiens. They've also been genetically very isolated for nearly all of that time, barring the odd cross over from New Guinea. It makes it easier for them to 'drift' from the norm for the rest of the species.

There's an interesting feature of East Asians. Their teeth have a different shape to everyone elses, it's called 'sinodonty'. The Homo Erectus population in China had teeth the exact same shape. Coincidence? Or a little interbreeding? Also, all foetuses in an early stage of development have an epicanthic fold to their eyes, but only the Mongoloid populations and Khoisan African retain it. So that could probably be called a throwback too.

Answer 4

Big if. You obviously do not understand what you are talking about. Evolutionary progress of this kind in not linear,  but the response to local environmental conditions.

So? Not for that long did you live in the same local environment. Think!

Answer 5

That may be because Australians were among the 1st migration out of Africa, that may have happened 70,000 yrs ago instead of 40,000 yrs ago that many hypothesize.  Recent discoveries in China & Australia threaten to throw a wrench (spanner to brits) into the works of the "Out of Africa" hypothesis. Modern appearing humans in Asia may indeed have evolved from H. erectus that later produced hybrids with the modern sapiens coming in from Africa.

Australia has been relatively isolated for thousands of years, therefore limiting the gene pool somewhat. One often sees this genetic differing among isolated populations.

I think you would enjoy reading this:

http://donsmaps.com/mungo.html

Answer 6

If you bother to actually closely study a Homo Erectus skull and compare it to the skulls of modern Aborigines you will find the promiment superorbital arc in Australoids curves and projects  in a very different way than it does in Homo Erectus!

Waterproof skin? Where did you get that idea?

You seriously need to read more widely?

Answer 7

I mean, if you are saying you're not ignorant but you don't know the answer that's a little contradictory.

But to answer your question, aboriginals have an "ape-like" appearance?  Broader facial features and darker skin isn't apelike its humanoid.  Apes have narrow faces, the biggest heads i've ever seen are on German shoulders (HUGE).

It's like someone answered previously, abs probably got to australia and split off from the rest of homo sapiens and just didn't have to compete and had the appropriate weather conditions 50,000 years ago to be able to chill and not do much genetic "work".

lucky, cause they don't get sunburned and probably have lower rates of skin cancer, i'd assume.  :( natural spf