Human Biology, 14 Edition

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 1-25924-574-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-25924-574-9

Chapter 23 - Section 23.5 - Evolution of Humans - Check Your Progress - Page 525: 5

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The replacement model hypothesis, also known as the Out of Africa theory or the recent African origin model, is a widely accepted explanation for the evolution of modern humans. According to this hypothesis, modern humans evolved in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago and subsequently replaced earlier hominid populations that had already dispersed to other parts of the world. The replacement model proposes that anatomically modern humans evolved in Africa and then spread out across the globe, replacing earlier hominid populations such as Neanderthals and Homo erectus through competition or interbreeding. The hypothesis suggests that modern humans left Africa in a single wave of migration, around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, and then rapidly replaced other hominid populations in Eurasia, Asia, and Oceania. This hypothesis is supported by a range of genetic, archaeological, and anatomical evidence. For example, studies of human genetic diversity have shown that modern humans have less genetic diversity than other hominids, which suggests that modern humans went through a population bottleneck in their recent evolutionary history. This is consistent with the idea that modern humans originated in a single location, and then rapidly spread out across the world, with only a subset of the ancestral population contributing to the modern human gene pool. In addition, archaeological evidence such as stone tools and cave paintings suggest that modern humans replaced earlier hominids in a relatively short period of time, which supports the replacement model hypothesis. Overall, the replacement model hypothesis suggests that modern humans evolved in Africa and then spread out across the world, replacing earlier hominid populations through competition or interbreeding. This hypothesis has been supported by a range of evidence and is widely accepted as the best explanation for the evolution of modern humans.
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