July
18
/ 2013
Every book, television documentary, syllabus and curriculum that makes any reference to the evolution of modern humans, begins this ancient narrative in Africa. Through a combination of recent advances in genetics and a bounty of bones sourced from a variety of more primitive hominids spread throughout Africa, the great majority of archaeologists, geneticists and palaeontologists stand united in nominating Africa as the birthplace of Homo sapien sapiens. So confident are they in the geography and genetics supporting this theory, they claimed to have traced our ancestry back to one common African mother named, “Eve.” However, what has been often lost in the rush towards absolutism is that genetics and geography are not connected. Even in the seminal paper ( “The
