Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Apr 29;357(1420):563-79.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2001.1057.

Modern human origins: progress and prospects

Chris Stringer  1
Affiliations
Review

Modern human origins: progress and prospects

Chris Stringer. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

The question of the mode of origin of modern humans (Homo sapiens) has dominated palaeoanthropological debate over the last decade. This review discusses the main models proposed to explain modern human origins, and examines relevant fossil evidence from Eurasia, Africa and Australasia. Archaeological and genetic data are also discussed, as well as problems with the concept of 'modernity' itself. It is concluded that a recent African origin can be supported for H. sapiens, morphologically, behaviourally and genetically, but that more evidence will be needed, both from Africa and elsewhere, before an absolute African origin for our species and its behavioural characteristics can be established and explained.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1992 Aug 29;337(1280):235-42 - PubMed
    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Jun 22;96(13):7604-9 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1996 May 16;381(6579):224-6 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1996 Aug 8;382(6591):500-1 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1996 Dec 13;274(5294):1870-4 - PubMed