The classic story of humankind tells that our species has its origins in eastern Africa some 200,000 years ago. But in many ways, like so many dinosaur models, this story was based on small fragments of ancient bones and teeth around which the narrative was woven. New discoveries have regularly required parts of the story to be rewritten, and regular readers will know that Science Illustrated has tracked these twists and turns over the years, creating a currently complex tale of evolution and migration.
Now, two new large-scale analyses of modern human DNA are allowing today’s researchers to tell the story of our ancestors in unprecedented detail, backed by the latest fossil finds. Deep inside each of us lies a DNA archive of our ancestors’ migration and love affairs. And this data reveals the old narrative to be incorrect, say the researchers, not
