Out of Eden - The Peopling of the World

409 Pages·2004·7.53 MB·English

by  Stephen Oppenheimer

STEPHEN OPPENHEIMER is a world-recognized expert in the synthesis of DNA
studies with archaeological and other evidence to track ancient migrations. He is
a Research Associate at the Institute of Human Sciences, Oxford University.

Praise for Out of Eden

‘Wonderfully readable and excitingly controversial . . . Readers who liked Jared
Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel will love this.’
John Terrell, Director of Anthropology,
The Field Museum, Chicago

‘To discover the real daughters of Eve, read on.’
Martin Richards,
Researcher in Human Evolutionary Genetics

‘Readable but authoritative.’
Andrew Sherratt, Professor of Archaeology,
University of Oxford
By the same author

Eden in the East:
The Drowned Continent of Southeast Asia
The peopling of the world
STEPHEN OPPENHEIMER

ROBINSON
London
Constable & Robinson Ltd
55–56 Russell Square
London WC1B 4HP
www.constablerobinson.com

First published in the UK by Constable,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd 2003

This revised paperback edition published by Robinson,
an imprint of Constable & Robinson Ltd 2004

Copyright © Stephen Oppenheimer 2003, 2004

The right of Stephen Oppenheimer to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise,
be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it
is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent
purchaser.

A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

ISBN 1–84119–894–3 (pbk)
ISBN 1–84119–697–5 (hbk)
eISBN 978-1-7803-3753-1

Printed and bound in the EU

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Cover design: Simon Levy
Cover image: Getty Images
To my daughter Maylin and son David,
to my wife Freda,
and to my father and mother.

To know where we are going,
we have to know where we are;
to know that we have to know where we came from
Filipino version of an Oceanic proverb
C
ONTENTS

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface
Prologue

1 Out of Africa
2 When did we become modern?
3 Two kinds of European
4 First steps into Asia, first leap to Australia
5 The early Asian divisions
6 The Great Freeze
7 The peopling of the Americas

Epilogue
Appendix 1 The real daughters of Eve
Appendix 2 The sons of Adam
Notes
Index
I
LLUSTRATIONS

Figures
0.1 The ‘untidy tree’ of hominid evolution (New Scientist)
0.2 Brain size and cultural evolution (data from Elton et al., Ruff et al.
[Prologue3,5], dating correction from McBrearty & Brooks
[Prologue5])
0.3 Real maternal gene tree of 52 people (reconstruction and haplogroup
assignment by Vincent Macaulay; data from Ingman et al. [Chapter
45])
1.1 Comparison of multiregional and out-of Africa models
1.2 Map of the northern route out of Africa (map based on Jonathan
Adams [Chapter 19])
1.3 The multiple-exodus hypotheses
1.4 A single expansion from Africa (figure concept after Toomas Kivisild
[Chapter 118])
1.5 Illustration of genetic drift
1.6 Map of the single southern route out of Africa (map based on
Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
1.7 Timelines of climatic events and human expansions
1.8 Map of the Fertile Crescent corridor to Europe (map based on
Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
2.1 Prepared cores, flakes and blades (Foley & Lahr [Chapter 25], after
Clark 1969)
2.2 Map of areas of Neanderthal-Modern co-existence (after Bocquet-
Appel & Demars [Chapter 211])
2.3 The worldwide spread of stone technology modes (after Foley & Lahr
[Chapter 25])
2.4 Map of stone points found in Africa (McBrearty & Brooks [Chapter
25], after Clark 1993)
2.5 Modern behaviours and evidence of their time depths of acquisition
in Africa (after McBrearty & Brooks [Chapter 25])
3.1 Map of the spread of Aurignacian pioneers into Europe (after Davies,
and Gamble [Chapter 31])
3.2 Dates of intrusion of mtDNA lineages into Europe (after Richards et
al. [Chapter 35])
3.3 The West Eurasian mtDNA tree
3.4 Map of the spread of gene lines into Europe
3.5 The West Eurasian Y-chromosome tree and geographical distribution
4.1 Map of the leap to Australia
4.2 The beachcomber mtDNA tree
4.3 Map of distribution of Nasreen and Manju in South Eurasia
4.4 The beachcomber Y-chromosome tree
4.5 Map of distribution of Abel, Cain and Seth in ethnic groups of
Eurasia
5.1 Rough terminology for apparent racial differences (with help from
David Bulbeck)
5.2 Map of distribution of skin colours (after Kingdon [Chapter 114])
5.3 Map of Mongoloid types and dental differentiation in East Asia
5.4 Spectrum of dental types from undifferentiated to Sinodonty (after
Rayner and Bulbeck [Chapter 513])
5.5 Map of the four routes into Central Asia
5.6 The Asian and Pacific mtDNA tree
5.7 Map of the entry of mtDNA lines into Central Asia
5.8 The Asian Y-chromosome tree
5.9 Map of the entry of Y-chromosome lines into Central Asia
6.1 World habitat changes at the last glacial maximum (map based on
Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
6.2 Map of European refuges at the last glacial maximum (after Otte
[Chapter 65] and others)
6.3 Map of East Asian refuges at the last glacial maximum (map based on
Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
6.4 Map of the centrifugal migrations from Central Asia
7.1 Map of theories of entry into the Americas
7.2 Language numbers in the Americas and worldwide
7.3 Map of the entry of mtDNA lines into North America (map based on
Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
7.4 Map of North America during the last glacial maximum (map based
on Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
7.5 Map of post-glacial mtDNA re-expansions in North America (map
based on Jonathan Adams [Chapter 19])
7.6 Map of the Asian sources of American founder lines
7.7 The American Y-chromosome tree
AppendixNames used for mtDNA lines The world mtDNA tree
1
AppendixNames used for Y-chromosome lines The world Y-chromosome tree
2

Plates
1 Reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis head (John Gurche)
2 Reconstruction of Homo erectus head (John Gurche)
3 Skulls of Australopithecus, Homo rudolfensis, H. erectus, H.
rhodesiensis, Neanderthal and modern man (The Natural History
Museum, London)
4 Reconstruction of Neanderthal head (John Gurche)
5 Newsweek cover (Newsweek)
6 Giraffe engraving at Fezzan (Robert Estall Photo Agency/David
Coulson)
7 Satellite view of the Red Sea (MODIS Land Surface Reflectance
Science Computing Facility)
8 Shells in reef at Abdur (Gail Smithwalter and Robert Walter)
9 Rhinoceros painting at Chauvet Cave (Ancient Art & Architecture
Collection)
10 Cargo cult leader Yali (Peter Lawrence, from Road Belong Cargo,
Manchester University Press, 1964)
11 Rock painting at Apollo II Cave (Robert Estall Photo Agency/David
Coulson)