the human diaspora
In this session we discussed the long, slow process by which our human ancestors spread outwards from Africa over the land-masses of the earth. In addition we looked at recent evidence suggesting that at least a small number of anatomically modern humans interbred with Neanderthalers, and that 'hybrid' people were still living in Europe around 25000 years ago.
To me this is a bit more comforting than the view held for many years, namely that AMH killed off all the Neanderthalers they encountered (the Neanderthal Extinction Event). However, the question is still surrounded by controversy and doubtless more detail will come to light. Here's a very thought-proking book review briught in by student Victor Mathews: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/21/sapiens-brief-history-mankind-review-yuval-noah-harari It queries how 'good' humankind's progress has actually been since the dawn of farming. |
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