A Morphometric Investigation into the Origin(s) of Anatomically Modern Humans

Description

This study investigates the origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens throughout the Old World. The results from multivariate analyses of cranial and mandibular metric and non-metric data and morphological studies are used to investigate when anatomically modern humans first appeared in sub-Saharan Africa, north Africa, western Asia, Europe, Australasia and east Asia, to ascertain what model best explains the world-wide appearance of anatomically modern Homo sapiens. It is found that the morphological, archaeological and genetic data provides a complex image of the transition that necessitates an explanation combining some local continuity, some population replacement and significant multidirectional gene flow. This complex phenomenon can best be described as an ‘Assimilation and Replacement’ model, where Europe saw the replacement of the Neanderthals by anatomically modern Homo sapiens, whereas eastern Asia experienced the assimilation of anatomically modern humans and the archaic indigenous populations.