Support for Out of Africa
model
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mtDNA analysis from 53 humans of
varied ethnic backgrounds
Data suggest all had a common
ancestor about 170,000 years ago
Distinct branch on the tree about 52,000
years ago, separating Africans from
non-Africans
Europe
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About 34,000 years ago, Homo
neanderthalensis abruptly disappeared
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Tool makers
Lived in huts or caves
Dead buried with flowers, food and weapons
Replaced by H. sapiens (Cro-Magnon man)
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Cro-Magnon man had a lighter body
Cave art
Probably had full language capabilities
Homo neanderthalensis
North America
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H. sapiens reached North American
about 13,000 years ago
Brian Sykes
Chardonnay grapes
France
Australia
South Africa
Chile
California
South African fynbos
South African fynbos
South African fynbos
Mediterranean garrigue
Mediterranean garrigue
California chaparral
California chaparral
Australian kwongan
Australian kwongan
Chilean mattoral
Common features of these
habitats
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Hot, dry summers and wet, mild winters
All about the same latitude
Fire-resistant shrubs with hard leaves
Shrubs often with spines
Mediterranean communities
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The five communities world-wide
contain a greater variety of plants than
the whole of tropical Africa and Asia
combined
The south European-north African
Mediterranean community itself has
20,000 species of angiosperms (out of a
total of 250,000 world-wide)
Mediterranean communities
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Despite the similarity of the flora, there
is little affinity among the communities
Rather, each community has species
derived from indigenous ancestors and
adapted to a regime of fire and heavy
grazing
In southern Europe, oaks dominate
In South Africa, heathers dominate
In Australia, wattles dominate
Mediterranean communities
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Wine tastes the same because it is the same
Native plants look the same but are distinct
The likeness of fynbos, kwongan, mattoral,
chaparral and garrigue reflects five
independent responses to the force of natural
selection
The native flora, not wine grapes, make the
case for evolution
Sharp-billed Ground Finch
Small Ground Finch
Medium Ground Finch
Large Ground Finch
Small Tree Finch
Woodpecker Finch
Large Tree Finch
Warbler Finch
Common Cactus Finch
Large Cactus Finch
Vegetarian Finch
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Galapagos finches
Wallace’s Line
Red Kangaroo
Wombat
Thylacine
Tasmanian Devil
Quoll
Phalanger
Australian mole
Australian mouse
Oregon salamander
Sierra Nevada salamander
Yellow-eyed salamander
Yellow-blotched salamander
Large-blotched salamander
Monterey salamander
Painted salamander