Modern Asians have African ancestors
Posted: Thursday, May 10, 2001
The theory that the ancestors of all modern humans came from Africa received a boost on Thursday with the publication of supporting research. Scientists based across Asia, in the US and the UK examined the Y-chromosomes of more than 12,000 people from across Asia and found no traces of any ancient non-African influence. "This result indicates that modern humans of African origin completely replaced earlier populations in East Asia," the researchers write in the journal Science.
The main alternative explanation of human origins - that modern humans are descended from separate populations which developed in different places - is known as multiregionalism.
"This really puts the nail in the coffin of multiregionalism," R Spencer Wells, co-author of the research, told BBC News Online. The value of the new research lies in the scale of the project, he said MorePrinter friendly version
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