Out Of Africa Thesis

The study of human history is focused primarily on one aspect, the migration of people, equipment, and their ideas from one location in the world to another. When studying human history we often break it down into smaller and simpler parts such as battles, specific locations and trade routes, and the expansion or collapse of empires. However, by taking a step back to look at the bigger picture in human history we can begin to notice a common trend. Everything we can potentially discuss about our past has a major involvement with migrations. Wars and disease require the migration of people or potentially animals, conquest is the migration of armies to expand territories, and the spread of ideas and information involves the migration of people
As discussed in the previous paragraph these events are linked because their underlying cause involves migration of early hominin species. The Out of Africa thesis although not proven, provides a very plausible explanation with lots of evidence for the initial migration of humans out of Africa to other portions of the world. This thesis contends that our ancestors originated in Africa and we share a single common male and female ancestor, “Y – Chromosome Adam” and “Mitochondrial Eve” respectively. This thesis also further states that the world’s races share far more in common than was once believed. It lays a foundation for how scientists propose that our world’s populations arrived at their current state. This explanation of early hominin ancestry relies heavily on the evidence that they migrated further north in search of new more habitable climates and nutrient rich environments. If we are to believe the Out of Africa thesis then we must acknowledge its reliance on the migration of hominin species to all other portions of the world including Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. This is just one incidence of migrations playing a large role in the major story of human history. Another important part of West and pre-modern history is the creation of hunter-gatherer societies. These early groups traveled in small bands and still exist to date in the San people of South Africa, they are believed to have good lifestyles with a lot of relaxation and as little as three hours of work a day. The entire basis of hunter-gatherer bands was that they consistently migrated to find new resources from the land. This life style is known to date back as far as 12,000 years ago and shows just how important migrations were