Skip to main content
PMC home page
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences logoLink to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
. 2002 Apr 29;357(1420):563–579. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2001.1057

Modern human origins: progress and prospects.

Chris Stringer 1
PMCID: PMC1692961  PMID: 12028792

Abstract

The question of the mode of origin of modern humans (Homo sapiens) has dominated palaeoanthropological debate over the last decade. This review discusses the main models proposed to explain modern human origins, and examines relevant fossil evidence from Eurasia, Africa and Australasia. Archaeological and genetic data are also discussed, as well as problems with the concept of 'modernity' itself. It is concluded that a recent African origin can be supported for H. sapiens, morphologically, behaviourally and genetically, but that more evidence will be needed, both from Africa and elsewhere, before an absolute African origin for our species and its behavioural characteristics can be established and explained.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (853.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Adcock G. J., Dennis E. S., Easteal S., Huttley G. A., Jermiin L. S., Peacock W. J., Thorne A. Mitochondrial DNA sequences in ancient Australians: Implications for modern human origins. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Jan 16;98(2):537–542. doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.2.537. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Alperson N., Barzilai O., Dag D., Hartman G., Matskevich Z. The age and context of the Tabun I skeleton: a reply to Schwarcz et al. J Hum Evol. 2000 Jun;38(6):849–853. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0389. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Antón S. C., Weinstein K. J. Artificial cranial deformation and fossil Australians revisited. J Hum Evol. 1999 Feb;36(2):195–209. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0266. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Balter Michael. Becoming human. What made humans modern? Science. 2002 Feb 15;295(5558):1219–1225. doi: 10.1126/science.295.5558.1219. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bar-Yosef O., Callander J. The woman from Tabun: Garrod's doubts in historical perspective. J Hum Evol. 1999 Dec;37(6):879–885. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0368. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bermúdez de Castro J. M., Arsuaga J. L., Carbonell E., Rosas A., Martínez I., Mosquera M. A hominid from the lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca, Spain: possible ancestor to Neandertals and modern humans. Science. 1997 May 30;276(5317):1392–1395. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5317.1392. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brown P. Recent human evolution in East Asia and Australasia. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1992 Aug 29;337(1280):235–242. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1992.0101. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bräuer G., Yokoyama Y., Falguères C., Mbua E. Modern human origins backdated. Nature. 1997 Mar 27;386(6623):337–338. doi: 10.1038/386337a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cann R. L., Stoneking M., Wilson A. C. Mitochondrial DNA and human evolution. Nature. 1987 Jan 1;325(6099):31–36. doi: 10.1038/325031a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Churchill S. E. Hand morphology, manipulation, and tool use in Neandertals and early modern humans of the Near East. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Mar 13;98(6):2953–2955. doi: 10.1073/pnas.061032198. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cooper A., Rambaut A., Macaulay V., Willerslev E., Hansen A. J., Stringer C. Human origins and ancient human DNA. Science. 2001 Jun 1;292(5522):1655–1656. doi: 10.1126/science.292.5522.1655. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Culotta E. Asian hominids grow older. Science. 1995 Nov 17;270(5239):1116–1117. doi: 10.1126/science.270.5239.1116. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dennell R. The world's oldest spears. Nature. 1997 Feb 27;385(6619):767–768. doi: 10.1038/385767a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Duarte C., Maurício J., Pettitt P. B., Souto P., Trinkaus E., van der Plicht H., Zilhão J. The early Upper Paleolithic human skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and modern human emergence in Iberia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Jun 22;96(13):7604–7609. doi: 10.1073/pnas.96.13.7604. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. GrüN R., Spooner N. A., Thorne A., Mortimer G., Simpson J. J., Mcculloch M. T., Taylor L., Curnoe D. Age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton, reply to Bowler & Magee and to Gillespie & Roberts. J Hum Evol. 2000 May;38(5):733–741. doi: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0399. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Grün R., Brink J. S., Spooner N. A., Taylor L., Stringer C. B., Franciscus R. G., Murray A. S. Direct dating of Florisbad hominid. Nature. 1996 Aug 8;382(6591):500–501. doi: 10.1038/382500a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Grün R., Huang P. H., Huang W., McDermott F., Thorne A., Stringer C. B., Yan G. ESR and U-series analyses of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Hexian, Anhui Province, China. J Hum Evol. 1998 Jun;34(6):555–564. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0211. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Grün R., Huang P. H., Wu X., Stringer C. B., Thorne A. G., McCulloch M. ESR analysis of teeth from the palaeoanthropological site of Zhoukoudian, China. J Hum Evol. 1997 Jan;32(1):83–91. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1996.0094. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Grün R., Stringer C. Tabun revisited: revised ESR chronology and new ESR and U-series analyses of dental material from Tabun C1. J Hum Evol. 2000 Dec;39(6):601–612. doi: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0443. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Grün R., Thorne A. Dating the Ngandong humans. Science. 1997 Jun 6;276(5318):1575–1576. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5318.1575. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Hanihara T. Dental and cranial affinities among populations of east Asia and the Pacific: the basic populations in east Asia, IV. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1992 Jun;88(2):163–182. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330880205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hawks J., Hunley K., Lee S. H., Wolpoff M. Population bottlenecks and Pleistocene human evolution. Mol Biol Evol. 2000 Jan;17(1):2–22. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026233. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Hawks J., Oh S., Hunley K., Dobson S., Cabana G., Dayalu P., Wolpoff M. H. An Australasian test of the recent African origin theory using the WLH-50 calvarium. J Hum Evol. 2000 Jul;39(1):1–22. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0384. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Holliday T. W. Body proportions in Late Pleistocene Europe and modern human origins. J Hum Evol. 1997 May;32(5):423–448. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1996.0111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Hublin J. J., Spoor F., Braun M., Zonneveld F., Condemi S. A late Neanderthal associated with Upper Palaeolithic artefacts. Nature. 1996 May 16;381(6579):224–226. doi: 10.1038/381224a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Humphrey L. T., Dean M. C., Stringer C. B. Morphological variation in great ape and modern human mandibles. J Anat. 1999 Nov;195(Pt 4):491–513. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.1999.19540491.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ingman M., Kaessmann H., Päbo S., Gyllensten U. Mitochondrial genome variation and the origin of modern humans. Nature. 2000 Dec 7;408(6813):708–713. doi: 10.1038/35047064. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Irish J. D. Ancestral dental traits in recent Sub-Saharan Africans and the origins of modern humans. J Hum Evol. 1998 Jan;34(1):81–98. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Jorde L. B., Watkins W. S., Bamshad M. J., Dixon M. E., Ricker C. E., Seielstad M. T., Batzer M. A. The distribution of human genetic diversity: a comparison of mitochondrial, autosomal, and Y-chromosome data. Am J Hum Genet. 2000 Mar;66(3):979–988. doi: 10.1086/302825. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Kayser M., Krawczak M., Excoffier L., Dieltjes P., Corach D., Pascali V., Gehrig C., Bernini L. F., Jespersen J., Bakker E. An extensive analysis of Y-chromosomal microsatellite haplotypes in globally dispersed human populations. Am J Hum Genet. 2001 Mar 16;68(4):990–1018. doi: 10.1086/319510. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Ke Y., Su B., Song X., Lu D., Chen L., Li H., Qi C., Marzuki S., Deka R., Underhill P. African origin of modern humans in East Asia: a tale of 12,000 Y chromosomes. Science. 2001 May 11;292(5519):1151–1153. doi: 10.1126/science.1060011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Krings M., Capelli C., Tschentscher F., Geisert H., Meyer S., von Haeseler A., Grossschmidt K., Possnert G., Paunovic M., Päbo S. A view of Neandertal genetic diversity. Nat Genet. 2000 Oct;26(2):144–146. doi: 10.1038/79855. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Lahr M. M., Foley R. A. Towards a theory of modern human origins: geography, demography, and diversity in recent human evolution. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998;Suppl 27:137–176. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(1998)107:27+<137::aid-ajpa6>3.0.co;2-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Mcbrearty S., Brooks A. S. The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior. J Hum Evol. 2000 Nov;39(5):453–563. doi: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0435. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Millard A. R., Pike A. W. Uranium-series dating of the Tabun Neanderthal: a cautionary note. J Hum Evol. 1999 May;36(5):581–585. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Ovchinnikov I. V., Götherström A., Romanova G. P., Kharitonov V. M., Lidén K., Goodwin W. Molecular analysis of Neanderthal DNA from the northern Caucasus. Nature. 2000 Mar 30;404(6777):490–493. doi: 10.1038/35006625. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Ponce de León M. S., Zollikofer C. P. Neanderthal cranial ontogeny and its implications for late hominid diversity. Nature. 2001 Aug 2;412(6846):534–538. doi: 10.1038/35087573. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Potts R. Environmental hypotheses of hominin evolution. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998;Suppl 27:93–136. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(1998)107:27+<93::aid-ajpa5>3.0.co;2-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Relethford J. H. Ancient DNA and the origin of modern humans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Jan 16;98(2):390–391. doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.2.390. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Relethford J. H., Jorde L. B. Genetic evidence for larger African population size during recent human evolution. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1999 Mar;108(3):251–260. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199903)108:3<251::AID-AJPA1>3.0.CO;2-H. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Rogers A. R. Order emerging from chaos in human evolutionary genetics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Jan 30;98(3):779–780. doi: 10.1073/pnas.98.3.779. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Schillaci M. A., Froehlich J. W. Nonhuman primate hybridization and the taxonomic status of Neanderthals. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2001 Jun;115(2):157–166. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1065. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Schwarcz H. P., Simpson J. J., Stringer C. B. Neanderthal skeleton from Tabun: U-series data by gamma-ray spectrometry. J Hum Evol. 1998 Dec;35(6):635–645. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0252. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Seidler H., Falk D., Stringer C., Wilfing H., Müller G. B., zur Nedden D., Weber G. W., Reicheis W., Arsuaga J. L. A comparative study of stereolithographically modelled skulls of Petralona and Broken Hill: implications for future studies of middle Pleistocene hominid evolution. J Hum Evol. 1997 Dec;33(6):691–703. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Shields E. D. Australian aborigines represent the first branch from Eurasian antecedents: odontometric evidence. J Craniofac Genet Dev Biol. 1998 Oct-Dec;18(4):228–232. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Stringer C. B., Hublin J. New age estimates for the Swanscombe hominid, and their significance for human evolution. J Hum Evol. 1999 Dec;37(6):873–877. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0367. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Stringer C. B., Humphrey L. T., Compton T. Cladistic analysis of dental traits in recent humans using a fossil outgroup. J Hum Evol. 1997 Apr;32(4):389–402. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1996.0112. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Stringer C. B. Reconstructing recent human evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1992 Aug 29;337(1280):217–224. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1992.0099. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Stringer C. B., Trinkaus E., Roberts M. B., Parfitt S. A., Macphail R. I. The Middle Pleistocene human tibia from Boxgrove. J Hum Evol. 1998 May;34(5):509–547. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Stringer C. A metrical study of the WLH-50 calvaria. J Hum Evol. 1998 Mar;34(3):327–332. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Stringer C., Davies W. Archaeology. Those elusive Neanderthals. Nature. 2001 Oct 25;413(6858):791–792. doi: 10.1038/35101688. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Stringer C. Palaeoanthropology. Coasting out of Africa. Nature. 2000 May 4;405(6782):24-5, 27. doi: 10.1038/35011166. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Swisher C. C., 3rd, Rink W. J., Antón S. C., Schwarcz H. P., Curtis G. H., Suprijo A., Widiasmoro Latest Homo erectus of Java: potential contemporaneity with Homo sapiens in southeast Asia. Science. 1996 Dec 13;274(5294):1870–1874. doi: 10.1126/science.274.5294.1870. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Takahata N., Lee S. H., Satta Y. Testing multiregionality of modern human origins. Mol Biol Evol. 2001 Feb;18(2):172–183. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Templeton Alan. Out of Africa again and again. Nature. 2002 Mar 7;416(6876):45–51. doi: 10.1038/416045a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Thorne A. G., Wolpoff M. H. The multiregional evolution of humans. Sci Am. 1992 Apr;266(4):76-9, 82-3. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0492-76. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Thorne A., Grün R., Mortimer G., Spooner N. A., Simpson J. J., McCulloch M., Taylor L., Curnoe D. Australia's oldest human remains: age of the Lake Mungo 3 skeleton. J Hum Evol. 1999 Jun;36(6):591–612. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Tishkoff S. A., Pakstis A. J., Stoneking M., Kidd J. R., Destro-Bisol G., Sanjantila A., Lu R. B., Deinard A. S., Sirugo G., Jenkins T. Short tandem-repeat polymorphism/alu haplotype variation at the PLAT locus: implications for modern human origins. Am J Hum Genet. 2000 Sep 13;67(4):901–925. doi: 10.1086/303068. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Tyrrell A. J., Chamberlain A. T. Non-metric trait evidence for modern human affinities and the distinctiveness of Neanderthals. J Hum Evol. 1998 May;34(5):549–554. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0217. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  60. Underhill P. A., Passarino G., Lin A. A., Shen P., Mirazón Lahr M., Foley R. A., Oefner P. J., Cavalli-Sforza L. L. The phylogeography of Y chromosome binary haplotypes and the origins of modern human populations. Ann Hum Genet. 2001 Jan;65(Pt 1):43–62. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-1809.2001.6510043.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  61. Wainscoat J. S., Hill A. V., Boyce A. L., Flint J., Hernandez M., Thein S. L., Old J. M., Lynch J. R., Falusi A. G., Weatherall D. J. Evolutionary relationships of human populations from an analysis of nuclear DNA polymorphisms. Nature. 1986 Feb 6;319(6053):491–493. doi: 10.1038/319491a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  62. Watkins W. S., Ricker C. E., Bamshad M. J., Carroll M. L., Nguyen S. V., Batzer M. A., Harpending H. C., Rogers A. R., Jorde L. B. Patterns of ancestral human diversity: an analysis of Alu-insertion and restriction-site polymorphisms. Am J Hum Genet. 2001 Feb 15;68(3):738–752. doi: 10.1086/318793. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences are provided here courtesy of The Royal Society

RESOURCES