from "Humans nearly wiped out 70,000 years ago, study says," CNN, AP
Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday.
The report notes that a separate study by researchers at Stanford University estimated that the number of early humans may have shrunk as low as 2,000 before numbers began to expand again in the early Stone Age.
"This study illustrates the extraordinary power of genetics to reveal insights into some of the key events in our species' history," said Spencer Wells, National Geographic Society explorer in residence.
"Tiny bands of early humans, forced apart by harsh environmental conditions, coming back from the brink to reunite and populate the world. Truly an epic drama, written in our DNA."I originally selected this article because of the interesting subject matter, because anything having to do with early hominid - sorry, human - history draws my attention. But note the heavy universalist slant in the select commentary from Wells; specifically, the suggestion that whatever accomplished so very little in Africa for seventy thousand years was already the same as whatever migrated out, survived thousands of years, invented everything under the sun, tinkered for a better tomorrow and developed nearly all the comforts we enjoy today.
Wells is director of the Genographic Project, launched in 2005 to study anthropology using genetics. The report was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics. Studies using mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through mothers, have traced modern humans to a single "mitochondrial Eve," who lived in Africa about 200,000 years ago.(more)
Yes liberals and leftists, we know you say all people are the same. Yes, we know Africa struggled due to imperialism, the harsh elements, nasty insects, predators, dusty soil and the lack of iron. But while these arguments may explain why those there and those elsewhere came to such different ends over the course of history, all the excuses do not explain why those there never left. I mean, if it was such a terrible place, why did they stay? Were they uninspired?
Though it may be politically incorrect to say so, perhaps the people who left simply strived for more. Perhaps that was part of their culture too, affecting the way they acted, thought and even raised the next generations. Observing how much our culture has changed even in the shortest span in the most recent of times, we can see that even here we are changing from whatever we once were, even a few generations ago. We can take comfort knowing that, with the same strength and determination that guided our ancestors, it is likely we will survive.
