Origin of Homo Sapiens

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Modern People Descended from Africans
The human evolutionary history is one of the most interesting topics attracting different voices among scholars. Different documentary evidence have been put forward to justify and explain the origin of modern human populations. Notably, a number point out to the origin of the modern man as being Africa owing to its unique features, abundant and fresh vegetation as well as its ambient environmental conditions. It is based on these features that Africa is presumed to befit the title of being the cradle of mankind. Evolution was a gradual process that needed some of these conditions to see the light of day, things that were only found in Africa.
The human origin is probably the most debated issue on the evolutionary chain of human history for a few decades. The evolutionary relationships derived from human genomes vary owing to dynamics in factors that affect the genome sequences, prompted in part, by the environmental changes. The modern humans are the only surviving species that falls under the genus, Homo. Studies have shown that the modern man has since evolved through stages from a common ancestor, Homo erectus that simply means an upright man. Homo erectus refers to an extinct human species that lived approximately 1.9 million years ago.
From an anatomical perspective, humans can be characterized based on their light skeletons. The modern humans have large brains that vary in size from one population to another and between males and females.

Their average size, however, is approximated to be 1300 cubic centimeters. This kind of volume required a bigger brain. The skeletal also remains to show evidence of the pre-humans having large jaws, long faces, and walking upright, facts that are drawn from the African Continent.
There are two models that have been fronted in an attempt to explain the origin and evolution of Homo sapiens. The models include ‘out of Africa and ‘multi-regional’. The former model holds that the Homo sapiens evolved on the African continent before migrating to other parts of the world. The latter model, on the other hand, holds that the Homo sapiens evolved in different places over a considerable length of time thereby intermingling with other populations that gave rise to the species of the current date.
Many scientists, archeologists, and scholars agree that early humans came from Africa. The strong, disarraying trends, wild seasonal weather and lack of or presence of few natural harbors that surround South Africa complicated everything from the navigation of its coast to exploration of its harbors for the sea faring civilizations. This fact also points to the large isolation of this part of the globe from the rest of the world. The South Africans lived in distinct groupings and confinements that had different lifestyles, some them sharing similar means of survival and languages.
The modern man is known as Homo sapiens. This is a species that came into existence nearly 20, 000 years ago. Evidently, it becomes clear that modern humans did not arise from the Neanderthals but originated from their contemporaries. Recent studies have established that the DNA and skull of humans gathered from around the world point to Homo sapiens (modern humans) having their origins in Africa. Led by Manica Andrea of the University of Cambridge, the team found no evidence to link the western world to human origin. The team combined human genetic variations from around the world and compared more than 6,000 skulls and concluded that the loss of genetic multiplicity was reflected in the much reduced physical deviation of humans.
New data from Africa indicate that the modern man came from the African content by proving an anatomically modern human as being a colony of the planet that occurred 50, 000 years ago. The data suggests that Homo sapiens evolved from some archaic humans who were primarily found in Africa. The new genetic findings point to the similarities that exist between species owing to their rate of evolution. Back to the ‘out of Africa’ model, studies in genomes support the fact that humans got their origin from Africa. Genetic findings establish that the highest attainable level of genetic variation in the Homo sapiens is found in the Dark Continent. As a matter of fact, more genetic diversity tends to exists in Africa more than in any part of the world. Furthermore, the modern DNA traces its origin from mitochondria which is the source of energy of cells. This has been tracked back to an African woman, Mitochondrial Eve that existed between 50,000 and 500, 000 years ago.
The ‘out of Africa’ model further gives evidence that depends on the size of the human skull. Having studied skull measurements and human genetics from across the globe, scientists concluded that the more one moves further from Africa, the more the variation among humans decrease regarding genetic make-up. This could be explained by some postulates, one being that human populations had become smaller while spreading out as they moved from their ancestry and original settlements in Africa. Given this, the genetic variation in these populations became increasingly smaller. The scientists then came to a conclusion that modern humans must have emerged from some commonplace, one region, Africa. It is documented that the oldest known fossils of the anatomically modern man are the Omo I and the Omo II skulls. The two were discovered in 1967 in a valley known as Omo National Park, south-western Ethiopia. These skulls are 196,000 years old and highlight how man have evolved comparatively recently.
The evidence as demonstrated by the ‘moving out of Africa’ model shows that humans who tried to move out of Africa did not make it much success. It even appeared that they would become extinct at some point in their adventure, dwindling too few a numbers as little as 10,000 persons. The super volcano eruption plus a 1000 year ice age are such wanting events that must have put so much pressure on these humans. The harsh conditions must have prompted some survival tactics among humans prompting them to stick together. It can be postulated that these wanton conditions could have led to the formation of families and other tribe groups among the Homo sapiens. The conditions must have also prompted some of the modern behaviors among humans that include a corporation.
The fossil records are also some of the best proofs for human evolution. It is rich in both archeological sites and human remains that stretch back to millions of years ago. Unlike genetic data presented by scientists, fossil records match the predicted outcomes of the theories that revolve around the past events without necessarily relying on postulates and assumptions. The genetic Eve theory, for instance, makes a couple of predictions that revolve on theories of fossil evidence.
Other documented evidence show that between 80000 and 50000 years ago, there was a wave of other humans who migrated out of Africa. They are thought to have been modern regarding their behavior and appearance. Their continued Corporation and good behavior made them more successful at surviving under the prevailing harsh conditions at the time, and conquering the world. In the course of their movement, humans must have interacted with and encountered primitive humans whom they eventually replaced. From a genetic point of view, the six billion persons in today’s world bear significant variations from the earlier Homo sapiens that came from Africa.
In conclusion, it is worth taking note of the following facts as far as human evolution is concerned. Fossils of Homo sapiens were found in Africa. Fossil evidence also shows that modern humans were replaced by earlier humans who found themselves in Asia and Europe. The vast number of studies also indicate that genetic diversity of humans comes from a common ancestry drawn from a small genetic pool. Most of these postulates point to Africa as being the cradle of mankind. The analysis from Neanderthal man also suggests that a variety of genes correlates with those found in Africa. Lastly, some ancient humans from Asian Continent show similar trends of the ancient humans who were found in China and who had similarities as shared out in the out of Africa model.
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