scholarly journals The most recent common ancestor for Y chromosome lived about 3.67 million years ago

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Sun ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Meiqi Shang ◽  
Kejian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Expansion Time

The origin of human beings is one of the most important questions in science. A combination of numerous archaeological and genomic analyses has led to the widely accepted opinion that modern humans are the descendants of anatomically modern Homo sapiens that originated in Africa about 200 thousand years ago (KYA). In this study, we reanalysed the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome DNA of the 1000 Genomes Project, and found many minority-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Using these polymorphisms, we recalculated the time taken for the evolution of modern humans. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA suggested that the most recent common female ancestor lived about 400 KYA and began to leave Africa about 180 KYA. In contrast, analysis of Y chromosome DNA revealed that the most recent common male ancestor lived about 3.67 million years ago (MYA) and began to migrate out of Africa about 2.05 MYA, a time which is consistent with the expansion time of Homo erectus identified by archaeological research. Based on the findings, we proposed a new migration routes and times of modern human, and speculated that anatomically modern Homo sapiens has been extensively interbred with local archaic human population during their dispersal across the globe.

scholarly journals Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans

2014 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habiba Chirchir ◽  
Tracy L. Kivell ◽  
Christopher B. Ruff ◽  
Jean-Jacques Hublin ◽  
Kristian J. Carlson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Trabecular Bone ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Human Skeleton ◽  
Trabecular Density ◽  
Fossil Hominins

Humans are unique, compared with our closest living relatives (chimpanzees) and early fossil hominins, in having an enlarged body size and lower limb joint surfaces in combination with a relatively gracile skeleton (i.e., lower bone mass for our body size). Some analyses have observed that in at least a few anatomical regions modern humans today appear to have relatively low trabecular density, but little is known about how that density varies throughout the human skeleton and across species or how and when the present trabecular patterns emerged over the course of human evolution. Here, we test the hypotheses that (i) recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the upper and lower limbs compared with other primate taxa and (ii) the reduction in trabecular density first occurred in early Homo erectus, consistent with the shift toward a modern human locomotor anatomy, or more recently in concert with diaphyseal gracilization in Holocene humans. We used peripheral quantitative CT and microtomography to measure trabecular bone of limb epiphyses (long bone articular ends) in modern humans and chimpanzees and in fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus/early Homo from Swartkrans, Homo neanderthalensis, and early Homo sapiens. Results show that only recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the limb joints. Extinct hominins, including pre-Holocene Homo sapiens, retain the high levels seen in nonhuman primates. Thus, the low trabecular density of the recent modern human skeleton evolved late in our evolutionary history, potentially resulting from increased sedentism and reliance on technological and cultural innovations.

scholarly journals Arguments that Prehistorical and Modern Humans Belong to the Same Species

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Kühne
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Homo Neanderthalensis ◽  
Out Of Africa

I argue that the evidence of the Out-of-Africa hypothesis and the evidence of multiregional evolution of prehistorical humans can be understood if there has been interbreeding between Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens at least during the preceding 700,000 years. These interbreedings require descendants who are capable of reproduction and therefore parents who belong to the same species. I suggest that a number of prehistorical humans who are at present regarded as belonging to different species belong in fact to one single species.  

The Long Limb Bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus Skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and Proportions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Heaton ◽  
Travis Rayne Pickering ◽  
Kristian J. Carlson ◽  
Robin H. Crompton ◽  
Tea Jashashvili ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limb ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Limb Bones ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Climbing Ability ◽  
Early Hominin ◽  
Allometric Analysis ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Limb Proportions

Due to its completeness, the A.L. 288-1 (Lucy) skeleton has long served as the archetypal bipedal Australopithecus. However, there remains considerable debate about its limb proportions. There are three competing, but not necessarily mutually exclusive, explanations for the high humerofemoral index of A.L. 288-1: (1) a retention of proportions from an Ardipithecus-like most recent common ancestor (MRCA); (2) indication of some degree of climbing ability; (3) allometry. Recent discoveries of other partial skeletons of Australopithecus, such as those of A. sediba (MH1 and MH2) and A. afarensis (KSD-VP-1/1 and DIK-1/1), have provided new opportunities to test hypotheses of early hominin body size and limb proportions. Yet, no early hominin is as complete (>90%), as is the 3.67 Ma Little Foot (StW 573) specimen, from Sterkfontein Member 2. Here, we provide the first descriptions of its upper and lower long limb bones, as well as a comparative context of its limb proportions. As to the latter, we found that StW 573 possesses absolutely longer limb lengths than A.L. 288-1, but both skeletons show similar limb proportions. This finding seems to argue against an allometric explanation for the limb proportions of A.L. 288-1. In fact, our multivariate allometric analysis suggests that limb lengths of Australopithecus, as represented by StW 573 and A.L. 288-1, developed along a significantly different (p < 0.001) allometric scale than that which typifies modern humans and African apes. Our analyses also suggest, as have those of others, that hominin limb evolution occurred in two stages with: (1) a modest increase in lower limb length and a concurrent shortening of the antebrachium between Ardipithecus and Australopithecus, followed by (2) considerable lengthening of the lower limb along with a decrease of both upper limb elements occurring between Australopithecus and Homo sapiens.

scholarly journals The challenge of the abstract mind: symbols, signs and notational systems in European prehistory

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 221-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Haarmann
Keyword(s):  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Writing System ◽  
Southeastern Europe ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Symbiotic Interaction ◽  
Homo Neanderthalensis ◽  
Cave Paintings ◽  
Naturalistic Pictures

Since the earliest manifestations of symbolic activity in modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) in the Upper Palaeolithic, there is evidence for two independent cognitive procedures, for the production of representational images (naturalistic pictures or sculptures) and of abstract signs. The use of signs and symbols is attested for archaic humans (Homo neanderthalensis) and for Homo erectus while art in naturalistic style is an innovation among modern humans. The symbiotic interaction of the two symbolic capacities is illustrated for the visual heritage of Palaeolithic cave paintings in Southwestern Europe, for rock engravings in the Italian Alps (Val Camonica) and for the vivid use of signs and symbols in Southeastern Europe during the Neolithic. Around 5500 BC, sign use in Southeastern Europe reached a sophisticated stage of organization as to produce the earliest writing system of mankind. Since abstractness is the main theme in the visual heritage of the region, this script, not surprisingly, is composed of predominantly abstract signs.

scholarly journals The Most Recent Common Ancestor of Modern Humans was Born in Eurasia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
vicente cabrera
Keyword(s):  
Human Evolution ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
African Origin ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Vision

Ancient DNA has given a new vision to the recent history of human evolution. However, by always relying on the information provided by whole genome sequencing, some relevant relationships between modern humans and its archaic relatives have been misinterpreted by hybridization and recombination causes. In contrast, the congruent phylogeny, obtained from non-recombinant uniparental markers, indicates that humans and Neanderthals are sister subspecies, and that the most recent common ancestor of modern humans was not of African origin but Eurasian.

scholarly journals The peopling of Europe and the cautionary tale of Y chromosome lineage R-M269

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1730) ◽  
pp. 884-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
George B. J. Busby ◽  
Francesca Brisighelli ◽  
Paula Sánchez-Diz ◽  
Eva Ramos-Luis ◽  
Conrado Martinez-Cadenas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
Alternative Explanation ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Appreciable Effect ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Existing Data ◽  
Age Estimates

Recently, the debate on the origins of the major European Y chromosome haplogroup R1b1b2-M269 has reignited, and opinion has moved away from Palaeolithic origins to the notion of a younger Neolithic spread of these chromosomes from the Near East. Here, we address this debate by investigating frequency patterns and diversity in the largest collection of R1b1b2-M269 chromosomes yet assembled. Our analysis reveals no geographical trends in diversity, in contradiction to expectation under the Neolithic hypothesis, and suggests an alternative explanation for the apparent cline in diversity recently described. We further investigate the young, STR-based time to the most recent common ancestor estimates proposed so far for R-M269-related lineages and find evidence for an appreciable effect of microsatellite choice on age estimates. As a consequence, the existing data and tools are insufficient to make credible estimates for the age of this haplogroup, and conclusions about the timing of its origin and dispersal should be viewed with a large degree of caution.

scholarly journals Signatures of human European Paleolithic expansion shown by resequencing of non-recombining X-chromosome segments

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Maisano Delser ◽  
Rita Neumann ◽  
Stéphane Ballereau ◽  
Pille Hallast ◽  
Chiara Batini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Y Chromosome ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Rare Variants ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Haplotype Blocks ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Snp Data ◽  
Female Bias ◽  
Chromosome Segments

AbstractHuman genetic diversity in Europe has been extensively studied using uniparentally-inherited sequences (mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA] and the Y chromosome), which reveal very different patterns indicating sex-specific demographic histories. The X chromosome, haploid in males and inherited twice as often from mothers as from fathers, could provide insights into past female behaviours, but has not been extensively investigated. Here, we use HapMap SNP data to identify segments of the X chromosome in which recombination is historically absent and mutations are likely to be the only source of genetic variation, referring to these as Phylogeographically informative Haplotypes on Autosomes and X chromosome (PHAXs). Three such sequences spanning a total of ~49 kb were resequenced in 240 males from Europe, the Middle East and Africa at an average coverage of 181 ×. PHAXs were confirmed to be essentially non-recombining across European samples. All three loci show highly homogeneous patterns across Europe and are highly differentiated from the African sample. Star-like structures of European-specific haplotypes in median-joining networks indicate past population expansions. Bayesian skyline plots and time-to-most-recent-common-ancestor estimates suggest expansions pre-dating the Neolithic transition, a finding that is more compatible with data on mtDNA than the Y chromosome, and with the female bias of X-chromosomal inheritance. This study demonstrates the potential of the use of X-chromosomal haplotype blocks, and the utility of the accurate ascertainment of rare variants for inferring human demographic history.

scholarly journals Quantifying the potential causes of Neanderthal extinction: abrupt climate change versus competition and interbreeding

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Timmermann
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Abrupt Climate Change ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Climatic Environment ◽  
Anatomically Modern Humans ◽  
Last Ice Age

Anatomically Modern Humans are the sole survivor of a group of hominins that inhabited our planet during the last ice age and that included, among others, Homo neanderthalensis, Homo denisova, and Homo erectus. Whether previous hominin extinctions were triggered by external factors, such as abrupt climate change, volcanic eruptions or whether competition and interbreeding played major roles in their demise still remains unresolved. Here I present a spatially resolved numerical hominin dispersal model (HDM) with empirically constrained key parameters that simulates the migration and interaction of Anatomically Modern Humans and Neanderthals in the rapidly varying climatic environment of the last ice age. The model simulations document that rapid temperature and vegetation changes associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger events were not major drivers of global Neanderthal extinction between 50-35 thousand years ago, but played important roles regionally, in particular over northern Europe. According to a series of parameter sensitivity experiments conducted with the HDM, a realistic extinction of the Neanderthal population can only be simulated when Homo sapiens is chosen to be considerably more effective in exploiting scarce glacial food resources as compared to Neanderthals.

scholarly journals The human genome reveals the evolution of Homo sapiens

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
K. Schwartz ◽  
◽  
M. Sorokin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Genome ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Homo Erectus ◽  
Max Planck ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
Language Communication ◽  
History Of ◽  
Development Of Language

The evolution of modern humans began two and a half million years ago as Homo erectus. Several hundred thousand years ago, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern men Homo sapiens have been separated from the Homo erectus branch. Nevertheless, Homo sapiens is the only one that has survived to our days. The complex history of Homo is revealed by genetic research and comparison of the modern human genome with genes of Neanderthals and Denisovans. Svante Pääbo, a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, made a significant contribution to these studies and decoded the genome of Neanderthals and Denisovans. Comparison of the genome of modern humans with the genes of Neanderthals and Denisovans made it possible to reveal the size of the population, the paths and times of migrations, interactions of various groups of ancient humans and their biological crossing. It was found that in Eurasia, modern man carries traces of Neanderthal genes, whereas in Asia and Oceania – Denisovan genes. According to anthropological research, the survival of Homo sapiens was driven by the cognitive revolution, which took place about seventy thousand years ago and included the development of language, communication and association in large groups.

scholarly journals Reappraising the human mitochondrial DNA recombination dogma

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simόn Perera ◽  
Amanda Ramos ◽  
Luis Alvarez ◽  
Débora Jurado ◽  
Maria Guardiola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Dna Recombination ◽  
Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Human Variation ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Human Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Mtdna Recombination ◽  
Most Recent Common Ancestor ◽  
Frequent Event

AbstractWith the “mitochondrial Eve” theory proposed by Rebecca Cann in the eighties, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been used as a tool in studying human variation and evolution. Although the existence of recombination in human mtDNA has been previously advocated, studies dealing with human variation and evolution have assumed that human mtDNA does not recombine and should be considered as pathological or very infrequent. Using both direct and indirect approaches, we provide consistent evidence of mtDNA recombination in humans. We applied the single molecule PCR procedure to directly test for recombination in multiheteroplasmic individuals without any overt pathology. Moreover, we searched for past recombination events in the whole mitochondrial genomes of more than 15,000 individuals. Results from our study update and expand both the seminal indirect findings and the scarce direct evidence observed to date, paving the way for the definitive rejection of the non-recombination dogma for human mtDNA. Acknowledgment of recombination as a frequent event in mtDNA will require the description of the population recombination rate(s) and to apply it to past and future studies involving mtDNA. MtDNA recombination affects our knowledge of human evolutionary history, regarding haplogroup divergence times, as well as the time to the mitochondrial most recent common ancestor. Finally, mtDNA recombination will have a substantial impact on our understanding of the etiology and transmission of mitochondrial diseases.

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