Ancient Genetic Discovery Challenges Single-Lineage Theory of Human Origins
21st March 2025
The evolutionary path of modern humans is more complex than previously thought, as new evidence suggests an ancient human ancestral population split into two separate groups that eventually reunited.
According to a new genome sequence analysis conducted by the University of Cambridge, these ancient populations split around 1.5 million years ago before diverging genetically and then reconnecting roughly 300,000 years ago. The modern humans that first arose in Africa between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago were not an even mix, though, as one of these ancestral populations donated 80% of the current genome.