The Origin and
Dispersal of Modern Humans

Homo sapiens
• About 200,000 years ago, the first modern
Homo sapiens evolved in Africa.

Theories of Human Origins
• Complete Replacement Model
• Regional Continuity Model
• Partial Replacement Model

Complete Replacement Model (Recent
African Evolution)

Regional Continuity Model
(Multiregional Evolution)

Partial Replacement Model
(Assimilation)
• Postulates the earliest dates for African modern
Homo sapiens at over 100,000 y.a.
• Initial dispersal of H. sapiens sapiens from
South Africa was influenced by environmental conditions.
• Moving into Eurasia, modern humans hybridized with resident groups, eventually replacing them.
• The disappearance of archaic humans was due to hybridization and replacement.

Modern Humans From Africa and the
Near East

Omo I
• Reconstructed skull of Omo I, an early modern human from
Ethiopia, dated to
195 kya.
• Note the clear presence of a chin.

Herto Cranium From Ethiopia
• Herto cranium from
Ethiopia, dated
160,000–154,000 ya.
• This is the bestpreserved early modern H. sapiens cranium yet found.

Mt. Carmel
• Mt. Carmel, studded with caves, was home to H. sapiens sapiens at Skhu¯l (and to
Neandertals at Tabun and Kebara).

Specimens from Israel
• (a) Skhu¯l 5. (b) Qafzeh 6.
• These specimens from Israel are thought to be representatives of early modern Homo sapiens.
• The vault height, forehead, and lack of prognathism are modern traits.

Anatomically Modern Homo
sapiens (Asia and Australia).

Anatomically Modern Humans in
Europe

Early Modern Homo Sapiens in Central
Europe
• The Mlade c (a) and Dolní V estonice (b) crania, from the Czech Republic, are good examples of early modern Homo sapiens in central Europe.

Cro-Magnon I
• Cro-Magnon I
(France).
• In this specimen, modern traits are quite clear. (a)
Lateral view. (b)
Frontal view.

Timeline for Modern Homo Sapiens
Discoveries

Homo floresiensis
• Indonesia
• 95,000 – 17,000 YA
• Blend of species
• Cranial capacity 380-420 cm 3
• Pathologies?
• Stone tool delima

The New World
• Ancestors of Native Americans reached the New
World through migration over the Bering Land
Bridge over many millennia.
• Debates continue, but at present, the only direct evidence of hominids in the New World date to about 12,000 y.a.

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens and
Homo floresiensis

The Upper Paleolithic Cultural
Revolution
• Cultural period began in western Europe approximately 40,000 years ago.
• Industries based on tool technologies
Upper Paleolithic
(beginnings)
17,000
21,000
27,000
40,000
Middle
Paleolithic
Cultural Periods
Magdalenian Solutrean
Gravettian
Aurignacian
Chatelperronian
Mousterian

Upper Paleolithic Tools
• (a) Burin. A very common Upper
Paleolithic tool.
• (b) Solutrean blade. This is the best-known work of the Solutrean tradition.

Hunting

The Punch Blade Technique
• (a) A large core is selected and the top portion is removed by use of a hammerstone.

The Punch Blade Technique
• (b) The objective is to create a flat surface called a striking platform.

The Punch Blade Technique
• (c) Next, the core is struck by use of a hammer and punch
(made of bone or antler) to remove the long narrow flakes
(called blades).

The Punch Blade Technique
• (d) Or the blades can be removed by pressure flaking.

The Punch Blade Technique
• (e) The result is the production of highly consistent sharp blades, which can be used, as is, as knives; or they can be further modified
(retouched) to make a variety of other tools
(such as burins, scrapers, and awls).

European Upper Paleolithic tools made from blade flakes

tone.
Paleolithic Tool Traditions In Europe
Tool Efficiency Over Time
Tool Tradition and
Tool Category
Oldowan choppers
(Homo habilis)
Acheulian hand axes
(Homo erectus)
Mousterian flake tools
(Neandertal)
Upper Paleolithic blade flake tools (modern humans)
Length of Cutting Edge
Per Pound of Stone
(approximate)
2 inches
(5 cm.)
8 inches
(20 cm.)
2 1/3 feet
(100 cm.)
10-39 feet
(300-1200 cm.)
Increase in Efficiency
Over Previous Technology
(approximate)
------
400%
490%
300-1200%
Sources: Watson, W. (1968) Flint Implements: An Account of Stone Age Techniques and Cultures; Hester, J. and J. Grady (1982) Introduction to Archaeology.

Upper Paleolithic Art

Magdalenian Bone Artifact
• Note the realistic animal engraving on this object, the precise function of which is unknown.

Upper Paleolithic Grave
• Skeleton of two teenagers, a male and a female, from
Sungir, Russia.
• Dated 24,000 ya, this is the richest find of any Upper Paleolithic grave.

Artifacts from the Middle Stone Age of Africa and the Upper Paleolithic in Europe

Social Changes
• Population increase
• Efficient subsistence
• Life expectancy
• Increase in family size