The Starting Point and Scattering of Anatomically Modern Homo Sapiens - Essay Example

The paper "The Starting Point and Scattering of Anatomically Modern Homo Sapiens" is a great example of an essay on anthropology. It is now known that anatomically modern Homo sapiens originated from Africa, and then dispersed to Europe and Asia. This discovery does come with evidence, and there have been different models explaining how the dispersal took place, and why researchers and archaeologists have come to the conclusion that these anatomically modern Homo sapiens came from Africa. One such model is explained by Mellars who indicates that there are two explanations to the origin and dispersion. 

The first possibility is that the anatomically modern Homo sapiens moved from Africa through North Africa and the Nile Valley, then dispersed to East Asia and West Europe. The second possibility through which they dispersed to Asia and Europe is from Ethiopia, across that edge of the Red Sea, moving eastward along the South Asian coastline, or northward through Arabia.
Current evidence showing such origin and dispersal are from Mitochondrial DNA analysis coupled with archaeological findings in Africa. Currently, Mitochondrial DNA lineage analysis strongly supports the second hypothesis about the dispersal of this anatomically modern Homo sapiens. The analysis indicates that it is only the L3 lineage members that dispersed from Africa. The lineage then diversified into N, M, and R derivative lineages. These are commonly found in modern Asian populations, but they diversified into Southern Asia and Malaysia at least 50,000 Before Present and 65,000 Before Present respectively. Studies on the Y chromosome also reveal a similar conclusion. This only means that the anatomically modern Homo sapiens dispersed into Europe and southwest Asia through western or central Asia (Mellars). Read More