Who doesn't think that everyone's from Africa?

Question

Raise your hands, who believes that Europeans originally came from Europe or native Americans came from America or Chinese people came from China or Middle Eastern people came from the Middle East.

And if you do, how many biology or anthropology classes have you taken?

Answer 1

I have to go with the "Out of Africa" theory because all the DNA evidence points to that.  However a crew headed by Bruce Lahn, U of Detroit the last I heard, discovered what appears to be an introgressed gene that appeared in the Mid East about 37,000 yrs ago that came from some more ancient line of Homo... Neanderthal being a possibility.  This gene is present in most non African Homo Sapiens.

SO, some researchers think those coming out of Africa did  breed with other Homo lines on at least one occasion.

Just a note to William:  Look up the differing Haplogroups in the Americas... most did come from Asia, but the earliest group (Haplogroup X) appear to have come from the ME & Europe of all places... as that haplogroup exists only among some American tribes, North Africans, ME and Europeans.

SC... Your links are out of date...  Google "Bruce T. Lahn" one of the top researchers on brain genes, then try "John Hawks" from U of Wisconsin.  My copy function is on the blink, & I'll have to fix it to give you some good links.

Dr Bruce T. Lahn is a researcher at U of Chicago... sorry about the memory there.

Fortuna: My youngest son (adopted) is Hopi (native American) & they call that the Hopi mark... it is common among Asian & Native American populations... I'm not aware of Africans having this mark... but will find out if they do.  It is often mistaken for a bruise by those unaware that it is present at birth.

Jonmcn, SC & all: I'd like your opinion on the link listed below?

Nancy, thanks for the post, do you know if West Africans have this spot?  How would you explain the "introgressed" gene that obviously appeared in the ME & spread through out North Africa, Europe, & Asia?  DNA evidence strongly suggests this is not a H.sapien gene.

Answer 2

I just wanted to add some information regarding the "Mongolian Spot".  SC's link pretty much covered it, but I thought that you might like to know that I'm East African (Mukamba Tribe) and my Husband is Caucasion (From Canada) We have two sons and both of them had this mark on their bottoms so it seems that it might be a dominant trait.  Anyways, our sons are both extremely light in colour and look more Caucasian then African, yet my Mongolian Spot won out... I was beginning to think against the conventional beliefs that infact Caucasion genes might just be stronger then my African ones after two pure white babies came out, but regarding this Mongolian Spot, I can now see that I can chalk a couple points up for my East African genes!  

Oh yeah, I guess that maybe I should try to write on topic as well.  My field of study is conservation biology, specializing in Primatology, but my biology courses have taught me enough to be fairly certain that the leading theory on this subject is the replacement theory whereby anatomically Modern Homo sapiens evolved some 125,000-150,000 years ago in East Africa.  There are some disputed sites in Ethiopia and South Africa which have been dated to 130,000 and 75,000 - 135,000 respectively, but the ethiopian site was in situ with a lesser developed hominid skull so it is believed that it may have been disturbed from a higher soil level, and obviously the range that the electron spin resonance provided from the S. African site is really not that helpful just because it is so wide that each end of it tells a completely different story.  The Earliest reliably dated sites are both in the Middle East and date back to around 90,000.  The out of China hypothesis put forth earlier is not presently supported by any empiricle evidence because all the Asian sites for anatomically modern Homo sapien are much less then the 90,000 mid east sites, although it is noteworthy to point out that the sites in Asia do pre-date the European sites.  That said the European sites, because of cooler preservation conditions, have provided some interesting DNA to be studied from the Archaic species (neanderthalensis) and although many sites had previously suggested the possibility of hybridization, from the osteological remains, the DNA evidence has all but completely whiped out the possibility, at the very least, of these hybrids being reproductively capable because the contemporary analysis is that the neanderthal DNA ended with them.  I think a few scientists have tried to contest this, but it seems to be a dying story.  Warmer temperatures have, as of yet, not allowed for nor provided any DNA evidence of the Archaic populations in Asia or Africa and it is unlikely that it will be found in the future so those areas are still open for speculation, although, based on the archaeological record the out of Africa replacement theory is the most credible and has so-far stood the barage of hypothesis that have been put up against it which have usually only ended up strengthening it rather then weakening it.  I probably shouldn't know this much about this subject, but my husband is an archaeologist (we met in Kenya) and he has always followed these hypotheses and told me about the neanderthal DNA evidence some time ago which was a pretty big blow to the interbreeding hypothesis, if I remember what he told me correctly?  It is because of this DNA study that I have referred to the replacement hypothesis as a theory throughout much of my discussion here because, if correct, this DNA is pretty much the nail in the coffin that elevates this hypothesis to theorem level as that is some pretty convincing empiricle evidence.  Anyways, I only started to write to tell you about my sons' bums, but then I couldn't help but try and take a swing at the question.  Not that you will particularily care, because I think that you already knew everything that I wrote down here?  Perhaps I shouldn't have even started to write this answer because obviously I do think that everyone is from Africa which should actually exclude me from answering. So sue me, I'm knew to this answers thing!  Take care!

Answer 3

im out of africa

Answer 4

If you line up a person from Eastern Europe, a person from South Western Russia, an Asian, an Aboriginal person, and a Middle Eastern… in the order, we may look all different but you will also notice the resemblances in people side by side.

Although I am not 100% sure who are the “original mankind”, I am leaning towards Chinese people since they have the recorded history of over 3,000 years.

BTW, we won’t know the truth unless, one day, sky opens up and God appear in front of us and tell us about it or something.

P. S. - I’ve never taken any biology or anthropology class.

SC:

Would you explain to me how we can be sure that Chinese people are descended from Africans and not vice versa? Just curious. Thank you kindly.

:-)

SC:

Thank you for your explanation.

That actually reminded me of something:

Have you heard of a "Mongolian Spot"? Many of Asian people have this spot, which looks like a bruise, around the tail bone until 2 years old or so. Do Africans have this spot? Are we supposed to be calling this "African Spot"? Just like, scientists are always finding African DNA markers in everyone, not that they are finding the same DNA markers in Africans.

I also wonder what the highest genetic variation means. I would think Mutts should have higher genetic variation…

Sorry for being pain in your butt -I guess I deserve 4 thumbs down (lol) - but you got me interested in this :-p

BTW, I'm not against science or anything. In fact, I’m thinking about taking Forensic Science course since it has been solving many cold cases and I want to contribute to it.

Answer 5

do you think homo sapien was fully developed before it left africa.  no way. i think we cant classify ourselves as being european or african or asian or middle eastern at least until we were homo sapien. if you want to argue if humanity originated from africa. then i wont argue that.

Answer 6

aliens dropped us off here.

Answer 7

First of all, when people hear the word "Africa" they automatically think the people are Black.  Just because the modern people of the country are Black skinned does not mean they always were, now moving on.  I believe my people, the Europeans, came from where they are now.  Europe.  The Native Americans, came from Asia a few thousand years after European Nomads discovered the continent on an Ice Bridge connecting from France/Spain to Modern West Virginia.  The European flourished here for thousands of years and they mixed with the Asians and created the Modern Native Americans.  I believe Blacks are from Africa and I think it's pretty obvious, excluding South Afrika which is Dutch now.

Answer 8

The only reason scientists believe that people originated in Africa is because the oldest human remains have been found there. Otherwise they don't know. Scientists never "know" anything they just make educated guesses on what they find. The Bible is supposed to be 70% percent correct which is a pretty good track record as compared to our scientists who always seem to be contradicting each other and themselves.

Answer 9

I'm from Africa.

Far from it

Answer 10

The " out of Africa " theory has garnered the best genetic/biological support, despite what some anthropologists think.