Early humans 'followed coast'

BBC ^ | 5/14/05

[LibWhacker]

The first humans who left Africa to populate the world headed south along the coast of the Indian Ocean, Science magazine reports.

Scientists had always thought the exodus from Africa around 70,000 years ago took place along a northern route into Europe and Asia.

But according to a genetic study, early modern humans followed the beach, possibly lured by a seafood diet.

They quickly reached Australia but took much longer to settle in Europe.

Dr Martin Richards of the University of Leeds, who took part in the study, says the first humans may have moved south in search of better fishing grounds when stocks in the Red Sea dwindled due to climate change.

"That might have been the push that set them off," he told the BBC News website.

DNA clues

When the first modern humans evolved in Africa, they lived mainly on meat hunted from animals. But by 70,000 years ago, they had switched to a marine diet, largely shellfish.

The new research suggests they moved along the coasts of the Arabian peninsula into India, Indonesia and Australia about 65,000 years ago. An offshoot later led to the settlement of the Middle East and Asia about 30 to 40,000 years ago.

The data comes from studies by two teams of scientists on the DNA of native people living in Malaysia and on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands between India and Burma.

Scientists can estimate how closely related we are by studying the DNA of the energy producing parts of the cell, our mitochondria.

[PistolPaknMama]

Yes. And feed him/her very well please

Well since the now-extinct, non- homo sapiens basically followed an Atkins diet, that should be easy. Ewww. Atkins. Wonder what that says about Atkins dieters?

Maybe LibWhacker is the missing link. Another mystery solved by the Pajama Brigrade. woo hoo!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Thank you for the link.

I think I will go now onto my balcony and scream. Then I will retreat and have a good stiff drink. Why? Because I’m frustrated. The last article you offered contains a lot of interesting points, and I need to read it when I am fresh (in the morning because I am a “morning” person) and try to review what is known and not known and weed out the speculations. This is a very interesting subject.

Again, thank you.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

He found in Java a piece of a skull, seeming by its contour to be smaller than the human. Somewhere near it he found an upright thigh-bone and in the same scattered fashion some teeth that were not human. If they all form part of one creature, which is doubtful, our conception of the creature would be almost equally doubtful. But the effect on popular science was to produce a complete and even complex figure, finished down to the last details of hair and habits.

Thank you for that wonderful post! I read it twice. Tomorrow I will read it several times more to get its full flavor. To the article, I say "amen." Case closed.

[LibWhacker]

Maybe LibWhacker is the missing link. Another mystery solved by the Pajama Brigrade. woo hoo!

LOLOL!

Good point about Atkins dieters. Having tried that diet, and as much as I love a good steak, I can say without further qualification that something very primal exists in me that let me know in no uncertain terms when I was on Atkins that red meat alone just doesn't cut it!

[PistolPaknMama]

Only if the howling won't bother you!

ROFL!!!!

[Joe 6-pack]

"I read it twice. Tomorrow I will read it several times more to get its full flavor."

Chesterton has been known to have that effect on people. His autobiography was written the year he died (1936). In it he writes:

"So far as a man may be proud of a religion rooted in humility, I am very proud of my religion; I am especially proud of those parts of it that are most commonly called superstition. I am proud of being fettered by antiquated dogmas and enslaved by dead creeds (as my journalistic friends repeat with so much pertinacity), for I know very well that it is the heretical creeds that are dead, and that it is only the reasonable dogma that lives long enough to be called antiquated."

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Maybe LibWhacker is the missing link.

Well, let's see now. We can do a Dr. Adkins experiment and give LibWhacker a diet of Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Godiva Ice Cream with lots of cream on top for a month. If LW gains weight, then we know that LW the missing link. If LW is fed on wild fruits and game and doesn't gain weight, LW can still prove to be the missing link.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Thank you. What a brilliant man. Thank you for introducing him to me.

[PistolPaknMama]

Been there done that. I have to have pasta. And beans. Lima beans, butter beans, sugar peas (aka english peas?), kidney beans and rice. Southerners eat rice, don't ask me why.

Anyway, obviously I can adapt to the diet of my new pet. Let's wait till you get your results back first before I go shopping. Did you find the National Geographic site? If not I might can help. Who knows, we may have had a common ancestor 20k years ago. That would make us 11 to the nth power cousins.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I just got my results back. It said I didn't count because I am decentent from cuatimundis.

[PistolPaknMama]

Great. Now one of you is a recovering Adkins dieter and another is nuts, fruits and rodents. At least you both come from a social species, otherwise neither of you would have lasted this long. Hope you aren't planning to room with LibWhacker 'cause I just can't do the daily rodent feeding. Might consider pork chops. LOL!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Well, (imagine huffy tone), we cuatimundis eat anything and everything.

Actually, we had a couple of my ancestors as pets at one time; and they ate everything from grass and plant roots to little live animals, sadly to say, despite the food we gave them several times a day.

When they were full grown, and very fat, we took them to a an area which was full of cuatimundi families and let then lose because we were moving. We let them lose very near a "herd." They happily left their cages and started rooting for food as they made their way to their new family. Being in the tropics, there was plenty of food to root.

As our Cuatimundis got older, they became less manageable (wilder). Every time I got bitten, the wounds festered meaning they had a very dirty bite. In the end, letting them go was the best for all of us (and I include the cuatimundis).

[John Valentine]

It sounds to me like they're saying the first wave of migrants moved into that region after Toba. But that's totally wrong, I think (at least from what little I know about it). If you believe the Bradshaw presentation (backed up with the DNA evidence described in the linked notes) there are surviving populations in Southeast Asia that definitely pre-date Toba. But in India, all extant populations came in AFTER Toba, some from the west, and some (pre-Toba descendants) from the east.

it is a fascinating presentation.

[LibWhacker]

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Godiva Ice Cream with lots of cream on top for a month

Oh, YUM! Go no further. That diet's for me, Gatún! I confess . . . I am the missing link from the Chocolassic Period, which is the short-lived period unbeknownst to science that came right after the Jurassic, when the dinosaurs were wiped out by a giant chocolate comet. This is the period during which the sweet tooth made its first appearance on Earth . . . Anyhoo, after we had eaten all the chocolate, the meat eaters came back to rule. But that's a whole 'nuther story. :-)

[LibWhacker]

You guys are making me so hungry! :-)

No, I haven't been to the National Geographic site yet, but I'm going over there right now to see if I can find it and sign up for this.

This will be so cool! Do they actually send you a little report detailing the migratory routes taken by your ancient ancestors? Anyway, I'm off now to find out!

[LibWhacker]

Okay, I found it! Wow, about $100 for the kit. They're not fooling around, are they? I'm gonna wait for the wife to get home before I sign up, as she might want to participate, too. Or perhaps even talk me out of it, lol! And I've got to give her that chance. But I'd love to take part and spring the info on the extended family! :-)

It's going to interesting, though, particularly in my wife's case, as her parents' ancestors had to have taken completely different routes round the world (an asian/european mix).

[LibWhacker]

I took a look at it. Fascinating and very nicely done! Thanks for posting it.

[PistolPaknMama]

Wow, about $100 for the kit.

That's a stretch. It was ONLY $99.00. :-)

Do keep us posted on the feedback from your wife. I figure it's not cheap, but it seems cheap considering the technology involved. Plus, it's something I can give to my children too, at least from their mother's side. I just wanted to be a part of it. :-)

[LibWhacker]

Okay, great . . . She was all for it. We're both going to participate. The website says turnaround time is 4-6 weeks, which is real good, I think.

Now if we can just talk one of her brothers and my mom to take part, we'll have a "complete" picture of the deep ancestry for both the maternal and paternal sides of both our families. Is that right? That's how I understand it, anyway.

In any event, it'll make a nice little addendum to the family tree and it's a worthy cause. Thanks for telling us about it, PPM! :-)

[PistolPaknMama]

Hmmmm, they test the mtDNA which is passed from mother to child. So her brother would have the same mtDNA markers as your wife since they would have both gotten their mtDNA from the same mother. And your mother would have the same as you since you got your mtDNA from her. So for the complete picture I think you would need your fathers, aunts or uncles on your fathers side. That would give you the mtDNA from your fathers' side.