Oct 12, 2025
Human migration and the extinction of large mammals
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Human migration and the extinction of large mammals
I was discussing this on Discord earlier today, but I thought of one of my issues with the term/concept "settler-colonialism".
It appears to exclude nomadic, migratory, and no-land groups*, either accidentally or by design. Some of these groups may not have had a "homeland" per se, and they tend to settle. Many Native American tribes, esp in the plains, for example, were nomadic or semi-nomadic. They would technically be called "colonizers" if we're stretching the definition.
And it's not like nomads don't exist anymore. There are still nomadic groups around the world. They, too, would technically fall under "settler colonialism."
Humans are migratory creatures. We originated in Africa and spread to the rest of the globe. Every single human being on the planet is a descendant of a so-called "settler-colonialist".
Island Southeast Asia has become a key region for understanding human evolution, yet its population history is far more complex than once assumed. Drawing on extensive genomic data from diverse Philippine communities and new ancient DNA from archaeological sites, we uncover a deeply layered sequence of human movements and interactions that shaped the archipelago. The Philippines was settled through several distinct waves, beginning with longstanding Negrito groups related to early populations of Australia and New Guinea, followed by arrivals connected to ancestral Manobo, Sama, Papuan, and Cordilleran peoples. The Cordilleran lineage appears to have separated from Indigenous Taiwanese communities well before the spread of agriculture, suggesting that cultural and linguistic changes in Island Southeast Asia cannot be explained by a single, uniform dispersal. Genomic evidence also reveals unusually high levels of Denisovan ancestry among some Negrito groups, pointing to a unique encounter between Denisovans and early humans in the Philippines. Ancient genomes from across the archipelago further show that the closest genetic links to early Pacific voyagers lie in eastern Indonesia rather than the Philippines and that interactions between East Asian- and Australasian-related groups varied widely from region to region. Together, these findings portray the Philippines as a dynamic crossroads for diverse populations, leaving a lasting imprint on the genetic landscape of the Asia-Pacific region.
A symposium with Maximilian Larena of Uppsala University - endorsed by Stephen Acabado!
The Muddle in the Middle
By UtaUtaNapishtim - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50525688
While it may seem that we have figured out most of human evolution and we understand the chain of our ancestors, there is quite a bit we still don't know, especially from about 1 million years ago to about 10,000 years ago. This time period, with fossils that are difficult to determine which species they belong to their geographic distribution leave researchers with three primary questions: Who was the last common ancestor between Homo sapiens and our evolutionary cousins? Where did Neanderthals evolve? and Where did H sapiens come from?
The time period in question is the Middle to Late Pleistocene. Parts of this time period are well understood, such as that H sapiens evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago, but where in Africa remains a question. While we know how Neanderthals traveled because of the rich fossil record they left behind, some of which was through apparently intentional burial, the interbreeding of our two species beginning about 60,000 years ago as H sapiens began to truly push out of Africa, through to their extinction about 39,000 years ago, 'even if the primary driving forces behind it (e.g., demographic, environmental, cultural, cognitive) are still intensely debated'.
One of the questions that needs to be answered to figure out our last common ancestor was is how many species of Homo there were and how they're all related. Because many of the various species are too old to get DNA from, we are forced to rely upon physical identification. This time period was one of 'intensifying climatic oscillations' that led to diversification. While a disputed species, whether it is part of H erectus or separate, H ergaster is thought to be the origin of both H sapiens and H neanderthalensis. H erectus is thought to have survived the longest in Asia, 'possibly giving rise to the small-bodied insular taxa identified in Flores, Indonesia, and more recently in Luzon, the Philippines. H nalendi from southern Africa appeared at nearly the same time that our species did, about 300,000 years ago, and possibly where our species evolved. Denisovans, a branch of Homo that was first found through genetic studies of a distal phalange of a little finger before more substantial remains were found, are most closely related to Neanderthals. With so many hominins living at the same time, as well as others that are emerging as we continue to study our distant past, such as H longi among others that have been found in Asia. In total, there are nearly 20 possible species of Homo currently described, with several of these disputed.
Source: https://worldofpaleoanthropology.org/2023/08/23/understanding-the-muddle-in-the-middle-hominins-from-the-pleistocene-guest-post-by-mekhi/
Among these, perhaps 'no taxon is more contentious than Homo heidelbergensis. Much ink has been spilled trying to evaluate the integrity, or even justify the existence, of this taxon' which is further complicated by the 'type specimen', or the first described fossil, was a mandible discovered in 1908 and lacks key features that differentiate it from any other species of Homo. H heidelbergensis have been found through Africa and Europe, but they've also been placed under other taxa or might be 'proto' Neanderthals.
A cave in Atapuerca, Spain known as Sima de los Huesos ('pit of bones') has 12 distinct layers dating from about 780,000 years ago in the oldest layers. The layers that contain hominin bones and artifacts date to about 460,000-300,000 years ago. The cave has the benefit of being largely inaccessible to carnivores and containing potential 'natural traps for cave bears (Ursus denigeri) in particular' in the form of what are known as chimneys. It's thought that bodies were 'intentionally cast down, and the corpses and bones probably slid slowly down the ramp and collected at the bottom'. From the cave, about 8,000 fossils have been recovered and assembled into about 30 individuals. Within these, many have been labeled as H heidelbergensis, but they also strongly resemble H neanderthalensis, especially their teeth. If the skulls are H heidelbergensis, then they strongly point to an origin for Neanderthals.
Another species, H antecessor was in the Atapuerca region about 1,200,000 years ago, leaving behind stone tools that showed influence of the environment on their tools, improving them over time. It was once thought that H antecessor was the common ancestor of H sapiens and H neanderthalensis, but more current research views it as a 'sister species to H heidelbergensis descending from Homo ergaster in Africa'. Another species that has been equated with H heidelbergensis is H bodoensis, which was found in Ethiopia, which 'clearly shows the origins of Neanderthals and our shared common ancestor with them. However, it does little for the origins of our own species, Homo sapiens'.
Source: https://worldofpaleoanthropology.org/2023/08/23/understanding-the-muddle-in-the-middle-hominins-from-the-pleistocene-guest-post-by-mekhi/
While early fossils of H sapiens have been found in Africa, such as Omo Kibishi 1, Herto 1 and 2, give support to the genetic evidence that we arose in Africa, with the oldest fossil from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco being 300,000 years old. These early H sapiens had features that were 'anatomically archaic', that is they had 'larger brow ridges, a more extended skull, and overall looked more like earlier species such as Neanderthals' and lived up to about 160,000 years ago, when anatomically modern H sapiens became predominant in the fossil record.
Based on what we currently know, modern human ancestry is in Africa, with hybridization events, best understood to be with Neanderthals for the ancestors of all non-African people and Denisovans for those native to Australia, New Guinea, and some groups in the Philippines. We have learned that H sapiens, once thought to emerge between 200,000-100,000 years ago to more than 300,000 years ago. It's also understood to be possible that we have a 'complex ancestry, possibly involving several distinct, geographically separated populations, which nevertheless interbred consistently through time'. With this new understanding, we've also pushed back how early we've left Africa, with evidence in Apidima, Greece going back over 210,000 years ago.
Looking at the current and projected next five years socioeconomic political situation as they apply to you and your family and economic prospects in the United States, and assuming that staying and emigrating are possible legally and financially (imagine a rich and powerful friend or family member in your destination country will help you get set up in your new area. Language classes and jobs will be offered if necessary)
Would you prefer to
Move to the US rather than stay in your country
Move to another country rather then staying in the US
Stay in your current, non US country
Stay in the US
Move out of your current non US country but not go to the US
I want to stay in the US but become a legal resident
I want my home to stop being US territory
You forgot about… [see comment]
Please reblog with comments or just for reach!
In our political assaults on human migration, animals are the unintended victims.
Watch how Africans populated the earth. Also pay attention to that route out of North East Africa.