Scientists Uncover Strange Truth About Where Humans Really Came From
Pinpointing the exact place where humanity took its first steps seems like a pipe dream — but not to the scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. Not only do they believe they've discovered the true birthplace of humanity, but their findings suggest that everything we thought we knew was wrong.
Tracing Our Origins
No one can really say when humanoids first split off from early primates. We do know they eventually evolved into the precursor to our Homo sapien ancestors, Homo erectus. These ancient humans roamed the Earth long before the existence of our recorded history.
Fossil Records
As such, records of this distant past are few and far between. Fossils, however, have served to bridge some of these historical gaps, leaving scientists with a somewhat convincing picture of how the human race as we know it came to be.
Multi-regional Hypothesis
One theory, the multi-regional hypothesis, asserts that the first humans originated in a single location and subsequently migrated across the globe. Once there, these early humans mixed with existing humanoid populations to become the modern humans of today.
Out of Africa
Yet the most popular and widely accepted hypothesis among scientists remains the "Out of Africa" theory. The OOA model echoes the multi-regional hypothesis in the belief that humans migrated from one location (Africa), yet instead of mixing with existing populations, these humanoids replaced them entirely.
