There are two basic theories as to how this happened (see below).

Out-of-Africa versus the multiregional hypothesis:

Both agree that Homo erectus originated in Africa and expanded to Eurasia about one million years ago, but they differ in explaining the origin of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens). The first hypothesis proposes that a second migration Out of Africa happened about 100,000 years ago, in which anatomically modern humans of African origin conquered the world by completely replacing archaic human populations.

The multiregional hypothesis states that independent multiple origins or shared multiregional evolution, with continuous gene flow between continental populations, occurred in the million years since Homo erectus came out of Africa (the trellis or candelabra theory).

A compromised version of the Out-of-Africa hypothesis emphasizes the African origin of most human populations, but allows for the possibility of minor local contributions.

Write a paragraph explaining which of the theories above you support and why.
After reading the Eve article and viewing the video, explain how the discovery of mitochondrial DNA, and the subsequent “Eve hypothesis,” impacted the theories above. Does it help to answer the question of our human global dispersal and settlement? Explain how. You should also consider the “compromised version of the “Out of Africa” hypothesis in your response.

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