Dispersal Of Modern Humans Research Articles

Palaeoclimates, plasticity, and the early dispersal of Homo sapiens

The origin and initial dispersal of Homo sapiens out of East Africa and into the Levant remains a major research focus in evolutionary anthropology. There is little doubt that climatic changes played a role in facilitating this dispersal, but the specific dynamics remain poorly understood. This contribution surveys the fossil and genetic evidence for the origin and dispersal of modern humans, and situates this evidence within the context of biological theories of plasticity and dispersal. It is shown that certain climatic and environmental conditions are expected to lead to the evolution of plastic strategies, and that such strategies are characteristic of successfully dispersing species. A model is formulated that allows for the identification of features in climatic records that are conducive to the evolution of plasticity, and thus to the development of dispersal capabilities. Using as an example a palaeoclimatic record from Lake Tana, Ethiopia, the model is used to pinpoint the chronology of likely periods of dispersal from East Africa. Results indicate the presence of a dispersal phase c.97–105 ka, a date that fits well with the initial modern human colonisation of the Levant shortly after 100 ka. Implications of recent genetic chronologies for the origin of non-African modern humans and the archaeological evidence for possible routes out of Africa are discussed in this context.

Unexpected technological heterogeneity in northern Arabia indicates complex Late Pleistocene demography at the gateway to Asia

The role and significance of the Arabian Peninsula in modern human dispersals out of Africa is currently contentious. While qualitative observations of similarities between Arabian Middle Palaeolithic and African Middle Stone Age (MSA) assemblages have been made, these inferences remain untested and often situated within overly broad dichotomies (e.g., ‘Africa’ versus the ‘Levant’), which distort concepts of geographic scale and subsume local variability. Here, we quantitatively test the hypothesis that assemblages from Jubbah, in the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia are similar to MSA industries from northeast Africa. Based on the quantitative analysis of a suite of metric and morphological data describing lithic reduction sequences, our results show that early and late core reduction at Jubbah is distinct from equivalent northeast African strategies, perhaps as a result of raw material factors. However, specific techniques of core shaping, preparation and preferential flake production at Jubbah draw from a number of methods also present in the northeast African MSA. While two Jubbah lithic assemblages (JKF-1 and JKF-12) display both similarities and differences with the northeast African assemblages, a third locality (JSM-1) was significantly different to both the other Arabian and African assemblages, indicating an unexpected diversity of assemblages in the Jubbah basin during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ∼125–70,000 years ago, or ka). Along with evidence from southern Arabia and the Levant, our results add quantitative support to arguments that MIS 5 hominin demography at the interface between Africa and Asia was complex.

Review of Green Arabia: Human Prehistory at the Crossroads of Continents

<p class="p1">‘Green Arabia’ was a lively and smoothly run conference held at St John’s College, University of Oxford between the 2nd and 4th of April 2014. The facilities and organisation were excellent, and an opening address from HRH Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdul-aziz Al-Saud set the stage for a densely packed programme of world class research in Arabian archaeology. Papers arising from the organisers’ ongoing ERC-funded <a href="http://www.palaeodeserts.com/">Palaeodeserts Project</a> formed the backbone of four sessions on the environment and human landscape of early prehistoric Arabia. Michael Petraglia introduced this project in his keynote. The project targets an area largely neglected since systematic archaeological research began in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s, but which, as highlighted by Abdullah Alsharekh and Ali bin Ibrahim Al Ghabban, has recently been thrust onto the international research agenda. The central message that emerged over the two days was neatly summed up by Huw Groucutt: we can no longer ‘draw lines through Arabia’ when considering the dispersal of modern humans. The peninsula, linking Africa to Europe and Asia, was a critical nexus in early prehistory and demands the close attention of archaeologists in years to come.

Genomic and cranial phenotype data support multiple modern human dispersals from Africa and a southern route into Asia.

Despite broad consensus on Africa as the main place of origin for anatomically modern humans, their dispersal pattern out of the continent continues to be intensely debated. In extant human populations, the observation of decreasing genetic and phenotypic diversity at increasing distances from sub-Saharan Africa has been interpreted as evidence for a single dispersal, accompanied by a series of founder effects. In such a scenario, modern human genetic and phenotypic variation was primarily generated through successive population bottlenecks and drift during a rapid worldwide expansion out of Africa in the Late Pleistocene. However, recent genetic studies, as well as accumulating archaeological and paleoanthropological evidence, challenge this parsimonious model. They suggest instead a "southern route" dispersal into Asia as early as the late Middle Pleistocene, followed by a separate dispersal into northern Eurasia. Here we test these competing out-of-Africa scenarios by modeling hypothetical geographical migration routes and assessing their correlation with neutral population differentiation, as measured by genetic polymorphisms and cranial shape variables of modern human populations from Africa and Asia. We show that both lines of evidence support a multiple-dispersals model in which Australo-Melanesian populations are relatively isolated descendants of an early dispersal, whereas other Asian populations are descended from, or highly admixed with, members of a subsequent migration event.

Chronological studies of Shuidonggou (SDG) Locality 1 and their significance for archaeology

Shuidonggou Locality 1 (SDG 1), discovered in 1923, is one of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in China, and excavations since its discovery have produced abundant cultural remains and other materials. However, only limited ranges of dating methods have been applied to the site. This study discusses the results of dating samples by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) from two sections at SDG 1. Medium grained (45–63 μm) quartz was extracted and used for age determination by the single aliquot regeneration (SAR) protocol. The OSL ages of five samples from the cultural layer in the section excavated in 1963 were between 32 ± 3 ka and 39 ± 4 ka, and four samples from the cultural layer excavated in 1980 were dated from 42 ± 3 ka to 46 ± 3 ka. The OSL data were consistent with newly acquired AMS 14C dates. The dating results show that ages varied from ca. 22 ka to 46 ka for the cultural layer at SDG 1. The onset of Levalloisian blade technology in China is dated to ca. 43 ka at SDG 1, perhaps reflecting a fast dispersal of modern humans, and earlier than previously thought. Systematic excavation at SDG 1 is needed to establish the exact stratigraphic position of Paleolithic assemblages in order to discuss their relationships with initial Upper Paleolithic industries in Eurasia.

The First Modern Human Dispersals across Africa

The emergence of more refined chronologies for climate change and archaeology in prehistoric Africa, and for the evolution of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), now make it feasible to test more sophisticated models of early modern human dispersals suggested by mtDNA distributions. Here we have generated 42 novel whole-mtDNA genomes belonging to haplogroup L0, the most divergent clade in the maternal line of descent, and analysed them alongside the growing database of African lineages belonging to L0’s sister clade, L1’6. We propose that the last common ancestor of modern human mtDNAs (carried by “mitochondrial Eve”) possibly arose in central Africa ~180 ka, at a time of low population size. By ~130 ka two distinct groups of anatomically modern humans co-existed in Africa: broadly, the ancestors of many modern-day Khoe and San populations in the south and a second central/eastern African group that includes the ancestors of most extant worldwide populations. Early modern human dispersals correlate with climate changes, particularly the tropical African “megadroughts” of MIS 5 (marine isotope stage 5, 135–75 ka) which paradoxically may have facilitated expansions in central and eastern Africa, ultimately triggering the dispersal out of Africa of people carrying haplogroup L3 ~60 ka. Two south to east migrations are discernible within haplogroup LO. One, between 120 and 75 ka, represents the first unambiguous long-range modern human dispersal detected by mtDNA and might have allowed the dispersal of several markers of modernity. A second one, within the last 20 ka signalled by L0d, may have been responsible for the spread of southern click-consonant languages to eastern Africa, contrary to the view that these eastern examples constitute relicts of an ancient, much wider distribution.

Continuity of Microblade Technology in the Indian Subcontinent Since 45 ka: Implications for the Dispersal of Modern Humans

We extend the continuity of microblade technology in the Indian Subcontinent to 45 ka, on the basis of optical dating of microblade assemblages from the site of Mehtakheri, (22° 13' 44″ N Lat 76° 01' 36″ E Long) in Madhya Pradesh, India. Microblade technology in the Indian Subcontinent is continuously present from its first appearance until the Iron Age (~3 ka), making its association with modern humans undisputed. It has been suggested that microblade technology in the Indian Subcontinent was developed locally by modern humans after 35 ka. The dates reported here from Mehtakheri show this inference to be untenable and suggest alternatively that this technology arrived in the Indian Subcontinent with the earliest modern humans. It also shows that modern humans in Indian Subcontinent and SE Asia were associated with differing technologies and this calls into question the “southern dispersal” route of modern humans from Africa through India to SE Asia and then to Australia. We suggest that modern humans dispersed from Africa in two stages coinciding with the warmer interglacial conditions of MIS 5 and MIS 3. Competitive interactions between African modern humans and Indian archaics who shared an adaptation to tropical environments differed from that between modern humans and archaics like Neanderthals and Denisovans, who were adapted to temperate environments. Thus, while modern humans expanded into temperate regions during warmer climates, their expansion into tropical regions, like the Indian Subcontinent, in competition with similarly adapted populations, occurred during arid climates. Thus modern humans probably entered the Indian Subcontinent during the arid climate of MIS 4 coinciding with their disappearance from the Middle East and Northern Africa. The out of phase expansion of modern humans into tropical versus temperate regions has been one of the factors affecting the dispersal of modern humans from Africa during the period 200–40 ka.

On the spatial and technological organisation of hafting modifications in the North African Middle Stone Age

Aterian stone tools represent one of the clearest indications of technological regionalisation in the North African Middle Stone Age. Found in association with Homo sapiens skeletal remains and more recently with symbolic material culture, the Aterian is widely thought to reflect modern human identity and cognition. As a lithic industry, the Aterian has been primarily defined by the presence of stemmed or tanged tools, but there has been little quantitative study of the relationship between tangs and other forms of hafting modifications, such as shouldering and basal thinning. Understanding the diversity of these features and their relationships with one another will clarify the organisation and adaptations of North African populations during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS 5, ∼130–70,000 years ago), a critical timespan for modern human dispersal. This paper presents the results of a stepped analysis of fifteen Aterian and other non-Aterian assemblages from the same spatial and temporal bracket in North Africa. Using Correspondence Analyses together with a suite of other statistics, the results indicate that tanging represents a widely applied strategy of hafting a variety of different tools. On the other hand, basal thinning is specifically correlated with lightweight, highly retouched points. The distribution of these features appears to reflect geographical proximity and shared environments, rather than articulating with traditional named industries. This in turn suggests that a continued focus on tangs to differentiate an ‘Aterian’ from other, contemporary North African MSA industries may be obfuscating regional-scale patterns of technological diversity.

Genetic and archaeological perspectives on the initial modern human colonization of southern Asia

It has been argued recently that the initial dispersal of anatomically modern humans from Africa to southern Asia occurred before the volcanic "supereruption" of the Mount Toba volcano (Sumatra) at ∼74,000 y before present (B.P.)-possibly as early as 120,000 y B.P. We show here that this "pre-Toba" dispersal model is in serious conflict with both the most recent genetic evidence from both Africa and Asia and the archaeological evidence from South Asian sites. We present an alternative model based on a combination of genetic analyses and recent archaeological evidence from South Asia and Africa. These data support a coastally oriented dispersal of modern humans from eastern Africa to southern Asia ∼60-50 thousand years ago (ka). This was associated with distinctively African microlithic and "backed-segment" technologies analogous to the African "Howiesons Poort" and related technologies, together with a range of distinctively "modern" cultural and symbolic features (highly shaped bone tools, personal ornaments, abstract artistic motifs, microblade technology, etc.), similar to those that accompanied the replacement of "archaic" Neanderthal by anatomically modern human populations in other regions of western Eurasia at a broadly similar date.

Characterization of the Relationship between APOBEC3B Deletion and ACE Alu Insertion

The insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), commonly associated with many diseases, is believed to have affected human adaptation to environmental changes during the out-of-Africa expansion. APOBEC3B (A3B), a member of the cytidine deaminase family APOBEC3s, also exhibits a variable gene insertion/deletion polymorphism across world populations. Using data available from published reports, we examined the global geographic distribution of ACE and A3B genotypes. In tracking the modern human dispersal routes of these two genes, we found that the variation trends of the two I/D polymorphisms were directly correlated. We observed that the frequencies of ACE insertion and A3B deletion rose in parallel along the expansion route. To investigate the presence of a correlation between the two polymorphisms and the effect of their interaction on human health, we analyzed 1199 unrelated Chinese adults to determine their genotypes and other important clinical characteristics. We discovered a significant difference between the ACE genotype/allele distribution in the A3B DD and A3B II/ID groups (P = 0.045 and 0.015, respectively), indicating that the ACE Alu I allele frequency in the former group was higher than in the latter group. No specific clinical phenotype could be associated with the interaction between the ACE and A3B I/D polymorphisms. A3B has been identified as a powerful inhibitor of Alu retrotransposition, and primate A3 genes have undergone strong positive selection (and expansion) for restricting the mobility of endogenous retrotransposons during evolution. Based on these findings, we suggest that the ACE Alu insertion was enabled (facilitated) by the A3B deletion and that functional loss of A3B provided an opportunity for enhanced human adaptability and survival in response to the environmental and climate challenges arising during the migration from Africa.

Indigenous and foreign Y-chromosomes characterize the Lingayat and Vokkaliga populations of Southwest India

Previous studies have shown that India's vast coastal rim played an important role in the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa but the Karnataka state, which is located on the southwest coast of India, remains poorly characterized genetically. In the present study, two Dravidian populations, namely Lingayat (N=101) and Vokkaliga (N=102), who represent the two major communities of the Karnataka state, were examined using high-resolution analyses of Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) and seventeen short tandem repeat (Y-STR) loci. Our results revealed that the majority of the Lingayat and Vokkaliga paternal gene pools are composed of four Y-chromosomal haplogroups (H, L, F* and R2) that are frequent in the Indian subcontinent. The high level of L1-M76 chromosomes in the Vokkaligas suggests an agricultural expansion in the region, while the predominance of R1a1a1b2-Z93 and J2a-M410 lineages in the Lingayat indicates gene flow from neighboring south Indian populations and West Asia, respectively. Lingayat (0.9981) also exhibits a relatively high haplotype diversity compared to Vokkaliga (0.9901), supporting the historical record that the Lingayat originated from multiple source populations. In addition, we detected ancient lineages such as F*-M213, H*-M69 and C*-M216 that may be indicative of genetic signatures of the earliest settlers who reached India after their migration out of Africa.

A new synthesis of evidence for the Upper Pleistocene occupation of 16R Dune and its southern Asian context

The site of 16R Dune, located at the eastern edge of the Thar Desert, provides a key benchmark for Palaeolithic studies in southern Asia. Application of chronometric dating of the excavated sequence at 16R in the 1980's has permitted significant insights into the timing and nature of cultural evolution in the Indian subcontinent. Recent studies of the 16R Dune sedimentary section have presented a revised chronology for the cultural horizons, although the impact of this upon the timing of occupation of the site and technological development in the region has not been discussed. Critically, the largest artefact assemblage from the site, originally dated by traditional radiocarbon dating to 26 ka and labelled ‘Upper Palaeolithic’, is bracketed by recent luminescence dates of 40–80 ka, and can better be described as Middle Palaeolithic. The sedimentary and chronological context for the cultural assemblages at 16R Dune is reviewed and the resulting synthesis is discussed within its regional context and with respect to contemporary debates regarding the dispersal of modern humans.

Palaeoclimate in the Saharan and Arabian Deserts during the Middle Palaeolithic and the potential for hominin dispersals

To disperse out of sub-Saharan Africa, it was necessary for hominins to cross the deserts of either the Sahara and/or Arabia. Thus, understanding the palaeoclimate of the Saharo-Arabian region is central to determining the role these deserts played in the peopling of the planet; when did they act as barriers and when were they more humid, opening dispersal routes across them? To address these questions we have conducted a temporal and spatial evaluation of dated sites from 20 to 350 ka using combined probability density function (PDF) and geographical Information System (GIS) analyses of all sites dated using uranium/thorium (U/TH) or optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods. Radiocarbon dates were not considered because of contamination problems in this time range. The results show that during MIS 2 there is little evidence for humidity in Arabia as would be expected during the height of the last glacial maximum, however, the Sahara shows a sharp rise in probability at the beginning of MIS 2, peaking near the boundary with MIS 3 at ∼29 ka. There appear to be brief periods of humidity in MIS 3 and 6, though at different times in the Sahara (ca. 37, 44, 138, 154 and 180 ka) and Arabia (ca. 40, 54 and 163 ka). During MIS 5, both regions show much evidence for humidity, with PDF peaks corresponding to insolation maxima, though not all maxima are represented in either the Saharan or Arabian record. This situation can be explained by eccentricity-modulated precession: when eccentricity is strong, insolation is enhanced (but also more variable) and the desert climate is generally more humid, particularly at times of high insolation. The opposite happens when eccentricity is low, and deserts tend to be more arid, but local factors exert more of an influence on climate, affecting the timing and strength of the brief humid periods experienced, so that they no longer coincide with insolation maxima. The spatial distribution of humid sites is compatible with a number of different modern human dispersal theories. Southern Arabia experienced humid periods centred on 54 ka and 125 ka, and this could have facilitated dispersal from east Africa to southern Arabia and beyond via the Bab el Mandab. The Sahara shows considerable evidence for humidity during MIS 5 and may have had dispersal across its expanse at this time.

Complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequences from the first New Zealanders

The dispersal of modern humans across the globe began ~65,000 y ago when people first left Africa and culminated with the settlement of East Polynesia, which occurred in the last 1,000 y. With the arrival of Polynesian canoes only 750 y ago, Aotearoa/New Zealand became the last major landmass to be permanently settled by humans. We present here complete mitochondrial genome sequences of the likely founding population of Aotearoa/New Zealand recovered from the archaeological site of Wairau Bar. These data represent complete mitochondrial genome sequences from ancient Polynesian voyagers and provide insights into the genetic diversity of human populations in the Pacific at the time of the settlement of East Polynesia.

The Middle Palaeolithic of Cyrenaica: Is there an Aterian at the Haua Fteah and does it matter?

The work of Charles McBurney in the 1950s described the Middle Palaeolithic of Cyrenaica, Libya based upon fieldwork at several localities including the Haua Fteah. The deep stratigraphy of that site has been used as a measure of the Middle Palaeolithic for the area and is being re-examined by the Cyrenaica Prehistory Project. Middle Palaeolithic industries there include the Pre-Aurignacian and Levalloiso–Mousterian and the latter, at least, is associated with modern humans in the form of two mandibles. McBurney and subsequent workers have been ambivalent about the presence of Aterian assemblages at the site and given the association of modern human remains with Levalloiso–Mousterian material is this significant?The nature of industrial succession at the Haua Fteah is discussed following analysis of the McBurney archive and further fieldwork at the site and in its landscape. There is no clear pre-Modern human presence yet demonstrated and so all the Middle Palaeolithic material at the Haua Fteah could be the product of modern humans. If this is so, why do the industries vary and does the reason for this variation explain the absence of the Aterian?The Aterian is present in the surrounding landscape. The Aterian has a clear association with modern humans in the Maghreb and is increasingly seen as an indicator of modern human presence. The sequence at the Haua Fteah can assist in formulating appropriate hypotheses for the processes of modern human dispersals across North Africa and beyond.

Human Demographic Processes and Genetic Variation as Revealed by mtDNA Simulations

Humans' ability for rapid dispersal and adaptation has allowed us to colonize diverse geographic and climatic regions of the planet, creating a complex evolutionary history. This complexity can be understood, at least partially, by modeling the underlying demographic parameters in the evolutionary process. In this study, we analyze a model of human evolution in which population size, gene flow (GF), and time are varied. Specifically, we simulate mitochondrial DNA for 42 demographic scenarios, represented by 42 parameter combinations, to describe the initial dispersal of modern humans out of Africa. The analyses include three values for colonization size (CS; 1%, 10%, and 30% of the African population), seven values for rate of GF (10(-6)-0.5), and two values for time of colonization (50,000 and 100,000 years ago). We then estimate summary statistics for the simulated data sets to calculate the percent of explained variation by each parameter and to identify which parameter combinations generate distinct differences in genetic variation, that is, which demographic scenarios can be distinguished from each other. On the basis of these results, we make recommendations about which summary statistics to use according to the parameter of interest. Our results show that CS, GF, and their interaction have the largest effect on genetic variation under our model of human evolution. Comparison with empirical data suggests that 1% of the existing African mitochondrial genetic variation left and colonized the rest of the world (i.e., CS = 1%) and bidirectional GF continued at a level of ∼10 individuals per generation (i.e., GF = 10(-3)) after the initial colonization. Our study serves as a model to bridge the gap between the use of simulations for theoretical population genetics and empirical data analysis such as approximate bayesian computation approaches and is, thus, applicable to the study of molecular evolution in any organism.

Craniofacial evolution in polynesia: A geometric morphometric study of population diversity

This study tests differences in craniofacial size and shape attributed to demographic history and plastic responses to differing environments in the islands of Polynesia. The dispersal of modern humans into Polynesia provides a useful scenario to investigate the impact of migration on human craniofacial diversity. Three dimensional geometric morphometric techniques are used to examine morphological diversity within Oceanic population samples. The importance of geographic and climatic variables is quantified by partial linear regression. The results show a homogeneous Polynesian morphology grouping in relation to neighboring regions. There is, however, considerable diversity within the Polynesian samples themselves. Natural selection due to environmental differences is not an important factor in the patterns of craniofacial diversity found in the samples. Historical patterns such as migration and population isolation influence patterns of craniofacial morphology within Polynesia, and our results demonstrate that morphological diversity can evolve in populations isolated for a relatively short period of time.

The Aterian and its place in the North African Middle Stone Age

The Aterian is a frequently cited manifestation of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) of North Africa, yet its character and meaning have remained largely opaque, as attention has focused almost exclusively on the typology of ‘tanged’, or ‘pedunculated’, lithics. Observations of technological similarities between the Aterian and other regional technocomplexes suggest that the Aterian should be considered within the wider context of the North African MSA and not as an isolated phenomenon. This paper critically reviews the meaning and history of research of the Aterian. This highlights a number of serious issues with definitions and interpretations of this technocomplex, ranging from a lack of definitional consensus to problems with the common view of the Aterian as a ‘desert adaptation’. Following this review, the paper presents the results of a quantitative study of six North African MSA assemblages (Aterian, Nubian Complex and ‘MSA’). Correspondence and Principal Components Analyses are applied, which suggest that the patterns of similarity and difference demonstrated do not simplistically correlate with traditional divisions between named industries. These similarity patterns are instead structured geographically and it is suggested that they reflect a population differentiation that cannot be explained by isolation and distance alone. Particular results include the apparent uniqueness of Haua Fteah compared to all the other assemblages and the observation that the Aterian in northeast Africa is more similar to the Nubian in that region than to the Aterian in the Maghreb. The study demonstrates the existence of population structure in the North African MSA, which has important implications for the evolutionary dynamics of modern human dispersals.

Τesting models for the beginnings of the Aurignacian and the advent of figurative art and music: The radiocarbon chronology of Geißenklösterle

The German site of Geißenklösterle is crucial to debates concerning the European Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition and the origins of the Aurignacian in Europe. Previous dates from the site are central to an important hypothesis, the Kulturpumpe model, which posits that the Swabian Jura was an area where crucial behavioural developments took place and then spread to other parts of Europe. The previous chronology (critical to the model), is based mainly on radiocarbon dating, but remains poorly constrained due to the dating resolution and the variability of dates. The cause of these problems is disputed, but two principal explanations have been proposed: a) larger than expected variations in the production of atmospheric radiocarbon, and b) taphonomic influences in the site mixing the bones that were dated into different parts of the site. We reinvestigate the chronology using a new series of radiocarbon determinations obtained from the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian levels. The results strongly imply that the previous dates were affected by insufficient decontamination of the bone collagen prior to dating. Using an ultrafiltration protocol the chronometric picture becomes much clearer. Comparison of the results against other recently dated sites in other parts of Europe suggests the Early Aurignacian levels are earlier than other sites in the south of France and Italy, but not as early as recently dated sites which suggest a pre-Aurignacian dispersal of modern humans to Italy by ∼45000 cal BP. They are consistent with the importance of the Danube Corridor as a key route for the movement of people and ideas. The new dates fail to refute the Kulturpumpe model and suggest that Swabian Jura is a region that contributed significantly to the evolution of symbolic behaviour as indicated by early evidence for figurative art, music and mythical imagery.

Phylogeography helps with investigating the building of human parasite communities

Phylogeography of parasites and microbes is a recent field. Phylogeographic studies have been performed mostly to test three major hypotheses that are not mutually exclusive on the origins and distributions of human parasites and microbes: (1) the "out of Africa" pattern where parasites are supposed to have followed the dispersal and expansion of modern humans in and out of Africa, (2) the "domestication" pattern where parasites were captured in the domestication centres and dispersed through them and (3) the "globalization" pattern, in relation to historical and more recent trade routes. With some exceptions, such studies of human protozoans, helminths and ectoparasites are quite limited. The conclusion emphasizes the need to acquire more phylogeographic data in non-Occidental countries, and particularly in Asia where all the animal domestications took place.