Figure 1.--

Anthropologists disagree as to the details as to pattern of the movement the genus Homo out of Africa. It appears that the first immigrants out of Africa were small numbers of H. erectus (2.0-1.8 million BP). Not only were the numbers small, but hey left very little archeological trace as to their movements. The movement of H. sapiens in larger numbers followed much mater. All of this until very recently could only be theorized. DNA has enable historians to look into pre-history to a degree unheard of only a few years ago. At first this was primarily the female line using mitochondrial DNA. Thee now are ways of looking at the male line. There are proponents of the single and multiple wave dispersal models, but the two wave model is by far the most common. Although it is likely that some small family groups ventured forth earlier and in small numbers. There appear to have been two primary waves H. sapiens. There is much more debate over the details. There is also considerable controversy over the timing of these migrations. A consensus was emerging that the H.sapiens migrations began about 65,000 BP. A recent discovery in northern Saudi Arabia at Al Wusta in the Nefud Desert is pushing back the dates of the human migration out of Africa. A finger bone found there has been identified as H. sapiens and dated to about 85,000-90,000 BP. This means that humans may have already reached the Arabian Peninsula and probably areas further afield earlier than previously believed. All of these individuals were hunter-gatherers, probably following migrating herds.

First Humans (2 million BP)

What there is of paleo-environmental records show that when hominoids were evolving throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene. The Sahara fluctuated between the desert landscape that we see today and periods of more open savanna grasslands. Those hominoids that managed to cross through or around the Sahara would have then encountered similarly hot and dry environments in the Arabian Peninsula and Middle East. Or cooler or even cold, temperate environments further on in Europe and eastern Asia. These mgrants began with Homo erctus, but over time Homo sapiensd appeared. These people were hunter-gathers, probably following migrating herds.

First Wave (65,000 BP)

DNA researchers believe that a remarkably small number of individuals were involved in the first wave of migration out of Africa. Some authors believe that the first hominoids that moved out of Africa were related to the modern San people in southern Africa. There seems to have been an initial migration that began about 70,000 years ago. They moved across short sea gaps crossing the southern coast of Arabia and then followed the coast of Asia and finally reached Indonesia and Australia. Te coastalroute mans that evidemce of their vmovement has been vovered up by water. As this migration was a coastal one. This may have been explained by climate and resource availability. Basically only beach combing skills were necessary, although the final stage to Australia involved a sea crossing, perhaps of about 150 miles. As ocean levels were higher, the ocean gaps were more narrow than the case today. They reached Australia about 65,000 years ago. Virtually no physical evidence exists of this coastal migration in terms of tools and other remains. The evidence is purely genetic. And genetic evidence has been found in southern India. The Australian aborigines are the modern descendants of these peoples. This migration constitutes about 10 percent of the modern world population.

Second Wave (50,000-40,000 BP)

The coastal migration out of Africa was followed by a second, larger wave of Homo sapiens. This second wave is responsible for about 90 percent of the modern world population. A range of inter-related factors appear to have driven the migration, including weather, droughts, rains, and grass graising heard animals. Climate change could have been driver. Theremsay have been arid periods forcing population movement. Wrter periods my have opened up passable areas. These early people are believed to have headed north first into the Middle East and then on tgo the Eurasian Steppe. Here they split into two groups. One moved east into India and overwealmed the first wave out of Africa that had followed the coast. Another group moved north into Central Asia, again probably following migrating heards. Another group moved west into Europe. They did not move into Europe through Asia Minor as earlier believed. It is not clear just why. Presumably this reflected the the mega fauna of the great Eurasian plain. Some researchers speculate that the existing Neanderthal populations blocked their way east into Europre. This suggests that at the beginning of the their migration, Homo spaien may not yet have been technologically more advanced than Neanderthal. From central Asia Homo Sapiens split. Two waves moved east, one into north china and another into southern China. Another wave moved west from central Asia into Europe. This is believed to have occurred about 40,000 years ago. Thus Central Asia was the nursery for modern humans. It is after this split that modern races developed as climatic adaptations. Some groups headed west into Europe. Others moved east into eastern Asia and others into south Asia. The East Asians split into China and southeast Asia. Some of the northern east Asians continud into the far north, evenually crossing the Bearing Sea land bridge and populating the Americas. [Wells] Reserachers asre till wrking as to when this occured (perhaps 20,000 BP)

Sources

Wells, Spencer. Journey of Man: A Genetic Odessy.

Created: 5:50 AM 3/29/2026
Last updated: 5:50 AM 3/29/2026