Physical Anthropology of Mankind
Thoughts on "Before The Dawn"
Recovering the Lost History of Our ancestors
by Nicholas Wade, 2006.
The modern man that moved out of Africa 50,000 years ago to populate the world evolved in NE Africa was a lanky black man, smaller than Neanderthal and an earlier movement from Africa, 100,000 years ago was probably stopped by this more robust cousin. The second migration 50,000 years later was caused by ice age desertification The coastal people moved across the narrow end of the Red Sea (even narrower then) [possibly chased into taking the risk of crossing] and moved along the south shore of Arabia. [Assuming that population doubles each generation of about 20 years, the surplus population would move off seeking new grounds for shellfish or fish and game. Assuming a relocation of 20 miles, then
the populated area expands 100 miles in one hundred years, averaging a mile a year.] Note that the stay at home population continued to double and would add replacements for the coastal tribes, which was the fasting moving frontier, and that each generation moved outward as encouraged by river valleys or discouraged by ocean, desert and high mountains. There are 2,000 walking miles to India. Coastal people moved on to Australia (Indonesia was part of Asia land mass back then and people continued on the New Guinea-Australia-Tasmania which was one continent until 8,000 years ago. Other continued up the coast to China and Beringia. Land oriented tribes moved up the great rivers of Asia. It is unknown if the central Asian steppes were populated from the coasts or continued to Siberia
and then moved inward for the long settlement of mammoth country. Possibly both. Movement up the
Tigris-Euphrates opened up settlement of Anatolia and then northwest to the steppes of Russia or east along the Mediterranean Lake. The Asian peninsula called Europe, home of Neanderthal, was settled late and from two directions, one along the south coast and secondly from the Steppe across the north.
H. Heidlerbergensis, the man of half a million years ago had spread into ecological niche round the world. Neanderthal was fully developed by 127,000 years ago and spread from Spain to Iran. Various forms of H. erectus developed in Asia. A settlement of modern man,
H. sapiens,
who developed in Africa about 160,000 years ago had moved into Israel about 100,000 years ago and survived for a few tens of thousands of years before dieing out. The small movement that resulted in modern man populating the world was one band, perhaps a hundred people who moved from Ethiopia to Yemen.
During the Interglacial, the reindeer people of Beringia were flooded and a band moved east into Alaska and then down between the glaciers into North and on to South America. A second wave may have came down the west coast a few thousand years later.
At a rate of one mile per year, the entire world could have been populated by 33,000 YA, but there may have been pauses to populate India and China and Russia.
Australia was probably populated in waves, there are 600 tribes. Isolation and constant warfare reduced the genetic variation so that the path taken and time sequence may be followed. New Guinea separated from Australia 8,000 years ago. Virtually every valley is isolated by difficult jungle. Some genes and characteristics of isolates remain in Andamens, New Guinea., Tasmania.
[H. floresiensis - Hobbits- survived that passage of modern man until 12,000 years ago by being isolated and they likely demised from volcanic eruption, rather than discovery.]
Diversity, genetic mutation, allows mankind to adapt to his environment -- disease resistance, for example. Genetic drift is the opposite effect to kill off non-viable mutations.
Aurignacin 45K to 28K Years Ago
Gravet Culture 28K to 21K ya
Solutrean 21K to 16.5K ya - northern people came south, war, innovation.
Magdalenian 18K to 11K ya
Neanderthal was probably of lighter color than the modern men who invaded his lands who were more recently "out of Africa". By 20K Europeans started to lighten and races were fixed about 12K ya.
The theory that the earliest coastal men continued rapidly to Siberia is supported by observing typical to adaptation to cold to a people who then moved south to bring those genes to the interior of China. So too
early Europeans moved south during the last glacial. The northern tribes evidently overwhelmed the southerners
living there, because when the Europeans and Asians moved back north to fill their continents, these northern features were fixed among all the peoples of each continent.
Evidence is that all tribes of man were in constant war with their neighbors. The intent of raids was to mark and ward off others from territories. Escalation to war were to the extermination so as to prevent retribution. An estimate is that 2/3 of tribes were at continual war and 7/8 fought at least once a year. A third of any population died from warfare.
The society that was successful in warfare survived. The less successful men on each side died. Genetically, the returning heroes were favored with offspring.
Whereas anthropologists tend to hush up the warlike nature of our antecedents, it might be better to show that current society has become more peaceful -- comparatively -- for the rules of survival continue.
- When Lewis and Clark told Indian tribes they met that they must stop fighting neighboring tribes;
they asked, "But how will we know who our leaders are?"
- High moral causes and affairs of state are not required to fight a war. Excitement animates the young. Medal of Honor holders say, "We did not do it for the country; we did it for the guy on our left and on our right."
Language, there are about 6,000 languages. New Guinea has about 1,200, essentially every
jungle valley and may represent the earliest common language of man. New Zealand Maori is the last settlement of language in 1200AD, 800 ya. It is said that the world is now losing 300 languages every year. Do you care?
Two big groupings of the world can be said to be the Rice peoples originating 9,000 YA and the wheat people 11,000 YA.
[I would add Maize of Mesoamerica, also 9,000 YA. leading to Mayan civilizations about 4 kya that reached its peak 1700 ya that included writing, arithematic (base 20, including zero), astronomy, calendar.]
Farming did not start by people sowing and settling, but people settled near natural sources of grains and other food stuffs and then learned how to replenish and improve the crops they depended upon without having to move. The earliest site is considered to be 9500 YA in Iraq. This occurred naturally and independently at places round the world and spread to adjacent areas. [The more recent Aztec, Inca, Mississippi and Pueblo may all have learned from remnants of the exhaustion of Mayan (4,000 YA to 1,100 YA ) from overpopulation and inability to survive a 200 year drought.] [Are the settled salmon fishers (Nez Perce, etc.) of the Pacific NW considered agricultural? Certainly pre-historic.]
Horse existed in the Americas in ancient times but died out in the large animal extinction about 10,000 YA, so that all American horses today came with the Spaniards or later. [300 breeds today.] Horses allowed greater mobility and were used for war rather than farming. Horses were domesticated about 6000 YA in southern Russia and northern Kazakhstan, became widespread by 5000 YA; by 4000 YA had spread throughout Eurasia.
[The last ancestor wild horse herd was seen in Mongolia in1966 and is being reintroduced from 9 captive animals
and now number 1,500.]
Wheel originated in ancient Mesopotamia around 7000 YA originally in the function of potter's wheels. The earliest wagons and carts (both) have been dated 5,700 YA in northern side of the Caucasus (S. Russia).
Rapid spread of the horse, cart, and Indo-European language (which existed before 8700 YA) from 5,500 YA are related -- Hittite, Greek, European in the west. Farming expansion is also considered a basis of languages.
[Can these two observations be combined?]
Genghis Khan (1162–1227) and his sons seemed to have a policy of creating heirs. 5% of Asian and 0.5% of the world dates to him. Another Mongol chieftain, Giocangga (died 1582) is accorded about 1/10 as many men living today (starting 350 years later). European claims go to the legendary Niall (died c450), second only to Genghis, with 8.3% of all Irish men(starting 777 years earlier). The Jews are
genetically disease ridden and only the most successful survived, attributing towards high intelligence, plus 15 pts. Smithsonian said the same last month. However, the purity of cohen lineage shows much adulteration. The static, ancient African population may have minus 15 pts.
Evolution. Three species coexisted for a time with modern men -- Neanderthal, erectus, and floresiensis.
Evolution did not end 15,000 years ago -- but 60% of olfactory genes have gone. Lactose tolerance developed in north Europe 6,000 YA. Brain neuron genes in 44% of Europeans cause both smaller and brighter brains.
Mao Tse-tung, JFK, and Bill enjoyed women as spoils of leadership.
Culture effects selection -- fierce Viking became peaceful Scandinavians. Will settlers in space differ for those who remain on earth? [I am betting on these people for the salvation of the human species.]
Lower classes have more children than college graduates. Large integrated population causes genetic drift to take longer to remove unsatisfactory traits. [Welfare sustains genetic errors.] Too much diversity may create separate species. A man-made chromosome may allow mass vitro fertilization. Question is: directed
evolution towards specialization or to natural diversity to handle change?
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Last updated : 16June2009
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