Rapid Fire
New Insights into Human Evolution
- 25 Mar 2025
- 2 min read
A recent study challenges the long-held belief that modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved from a single ancestral population, suggesting instead that they emerged through the admixture of two distinct populations.
- The research analyzed modern human DNA to trace population splits and reunions, relying on data from the 1000 Genomes Project rather than ancient fossils.
- The 1000 Genomes Project is a global initiative that sequenced DNA from populations across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
Key Findings:
- Multiple Ancestry & Evolution: Modern humans (Homo sapiens) likely evolved from 2 ancestral populations, with one majority (~80%) experiencing a significant decline before recovering, while the other minority (~20%) contributed genes linked to brain function and cognition.
- Some genes from the minority group underwent purifying selection, indicating evolutionary pressures that shaped human development.
- This genetic exchange contributed nearly 10 times more material than the later Neanderthal-Denisovan interbreeding (~50,000 years ago), which accounts for only ~2% of non-African human DNA.
- Genetic Mixing: These populations diverged around 1.5 million years ago and later interbred approximately 300,000 years ago, forming the genetic foundation of modern humans.
| Read More: Genome India Project, Human Evolution and Migration. |
