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Re: Hominid speciation, was h
Mark Fagan (71640.2463@CompuServe.COM)
24 Jul 1995 05:33:58 GMT
Your speculations on the 'barriers' between species parallels
something I've been thinking lately, concerning the "Out of Africa"
vs. multiple-origins hypotheses for modern humans.
The latter explains similar groups of morphological traits (such
as shovel shaped incisors in eastern Asia) that persist in one
region between species as evolution in place, with a lot of gene
flow going on between these groups so that speciation never took
place.
The OOA hypothesis sees origin of the modern species in Africa,
with migration into other areas.
I could never buy into the idea that there was SO MUCH gene flow
going on between, China, southern Africa and northern Europe (as
they are today), so that one single species evolved concurrently
throughout the old world.
I see no reason, though, that anatomically modern people spreading
out from Africa could not have interbred with local populations of
earlier hominids and so aquired some of the local characteristics.
Especially if they were adaptive.
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