Abstract
Four models of modern human origins were described and discussed by Aiello (Aiello, L. (1993) American Anthropologist 95: 73–96. She distinguished them as the African Replacement Model, the African Hybridization and Replacement Model, the Assimilation Model, and the Multiregional Model. All of these models have been modified and refined following further research and development by their proponents, but this is now leading to some confusion in testing the models. Whereas developments of the African Replacement Model have often been given distinct names, quite different versions of the Multiregional Model are still referred to under the original name. New ways of distinguishing the models are proposed, and the suggestion is made that some versions of the Multiregional Model should now be subsumed under the Assimilation Model, while others could perhaps be known under the term Multiregional Model 2.
Quatre modèles représentant les origines de l'homme moderne furent décrits et discutés par Aiello (1993): le Modèle Africain de Remplacement (African Replacement Model), le Modèle Africain d'Hybridisation et de Remplacement (African Hybridization and Replacement Model), le Modèle d'Assimilation (Assimilation Model) et le Modèle Multirégional (Multiregional Model). Suite à de nouvelles recherches et de nouveaux développements, chacun de ces modèles a été modifié et affiné par ses partisans, ce qui, à ce jour, a mené à une certaine confusion lorsqu'il s'agit de tester ces modèles. Alors que les développements issus du Modèle Africain de Remplacement ont souvent reçu des noms à part, plusieurs variantes, toutes plutôt différentes les unes des autres, du Modèle Multirégional ne sont toujours connues que par leur nom d'origine. Ici je présente de nouvelles propositions ayant comme but de faciliter la distinction entre différents modèles. Je propose également que certaines variantes du Modèle Multirégional devraient à présent être comprises dans le Modèle d'Assimilation, tandis que d'autres pourraient peut-être prendre le nom de Modèle Multirégional 2 (Multiregional Model 2).
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES CITED
Aiello, L. (1993). The fossil evidence for modern human origins in Africa; a revised view. American Anthropologist 95: 73–96.
Ambrose, S. (1998). Late Pleistocene human population bottlenecks, volcanic winter, and differentiation of modern humans. Journal of Human Evolution 34: 623–651.
Bertranpetit, J. (2000). Genome, diversity, and origins: TheYchromosome as a storyteller. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 97: 6927–6929.
Bräuer, G. (1992). Africa's place in the evolution of Homo sapiens. In Bräuer, G., and Smith, F. (eds.), Continuity or Replacement? Controversies in Homo sapiens Evolution, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 83–98.
Bräuer, G., and Stringer, C. (1997). Models, polarization, and perspectives on modern human origins. In Clark, G., and Willermet, C. (eds.), Conceptual Issues in Modern Human Origins Research, Aldine de Gruyter, New York, pp. 191–201.
Chen, Y.-S., Olckers, A., Schurr, T., Kogelnik, A., Huoponen, K., and Wallace, D. (2000). mtDNA variation in the South African Kung and Khwe and their genetic relationships to other African populations. American Journal of Human Genetics 66: 1362–1383.
Frayer, D., Wolpoff, M., Smith, F., Thorne, A., and Pope, G. (1993). The fossil evidence for modern human origins. American Anthropologist 95: 14–50.
Harpending, H., Sherry, S., Rogers, A., and Stoneking M. (1993). The genetic structure of ancient human populations. Current Anthropology 34: 483–496.
Hawks, J., Huntley, K., Lee, S.-H., and Wolpoff, M. (2000). Population bottlenecks and Pleistocene human evolution. Molecular Biology and Evolution 17: 2–22.
Howell, F. C. (1996). Thoughts on the study and interpretation of the human fossil record. In Meikle, W., Howell, F. C., and Jablonski, N. (eds.), Contemporary Issues in Human Evolution, California Academy of Sciences Memoir 21, pp. 1–45.
Ingman, M., Kaessmann, H., Pääbo, S., and Gyllensten, U. (2000). Mitochondrial genome variation and the origin of modern humans. Nature 408: 708–713.
Jorde, L., Watkins, W., Bamshad, M., Dixon, M., Ricker, C., Seielstad, M., and Batzer, M. (2000). The distribution of human genetic diversity: A comparison of mitochondrial, autosomal, and Y-chromosome data. American Journal of Human Genetics 66: 979–988.
Lahr, M., and Foley, R. (1994). Multiple dispersals and modern human origins. Evolutionary Anthropology 3: 48–60.
Relethford, J. (1999). Models, predictions and the fossil record of modern human origins. Evolutionary Anthropology 8: 7–10.
Relethford, J., and Jorde, L. (1999). Genetic evidence for larger African population size during recent human evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 108: 251–260.
Smith, F. (1992). The role of continuity in modern human origins. In Bräuer, G., and Smith, F. (eds.), Continuity of Replacement? Controversies in Homo sapiens Evolution, Balkema, Rotterdam, pp. 145–156.
Stringer, C., and Andrews, P. (1988). Genetic and fossil evidence for the origin of modern humans. Science 239: 1263–1268.
Stringer, C., and Bräuer, G. (1994). Methods, misreading and bias. American Anthropologist 96: 416–424.
Thorne, A., and Wolpoff, M. (1992). The multiregional evolution of modern humans. Scientific American 266: 76–83.
Tishkoff, S., Dietzsch, E., Speed, W., Pakstis, A., Kidd, J., Cheung, K., Bonne-Tamir, B., Santachiara-Benerecetti, A., Moral, P., Krings, M., Pääbo, S., Watson, E., Risch, N., Jenkins, T., and Kidd, K. (1996a). Global patterns of linkage disequilibrium at the CD4 locus and modern human origins. Science 271: 1380–1387.
Tishkoff, S., Kidd, K., and Risch, N. (1996b). Interpretations of multiregional evolution. Science 274: 704–707.
Tishkoff, S., Pakstis, A., Stoneking, M., Kidd, J., Destro-Bisol, G., Sanjantila, A., Lu, R.-B., Deinard, A., Sirugo, G., Jenkins, T., Kidd, K., and Clark, A. (2000). Short tandem-repeat polymorphism/ Alu haplotype variation at the PLAT locus: Implications for modern human origins. American Journal of Human Genetics 67: 901–925.
Underhill, P., Shen, P., Lin, A., Jin, L., Passarino, G., Yang, W., Kauffman, E., Bonné-Tamir, B., Bertranpetit, J., Francalacci, P., Ibrahim, M., Jenkins, T., Kidd, J., Mehdi, S. Q., Seielstad, M., Wells, R. S., Piazza, A., Davis, R., Feldman, M., Cavalli-Sforza, L., and Oefner, P. (2000). Y chromosome sequence variation and the history of human populations. Nature Genetics 26: 358–361.
Wolpoff, M. (1996). Interpretations of multiregional evolution. Science 274: 704–707.
Wolpoff, M., and Relethford, J. (1997). Population size and structure, and models of human evolution. Abstracts Cold Spring Harbor Meeting on Human Evolution, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, October 1997, p. 89.
Wolpoff, M., Hawks, J., and Caspari, R. (2000). Multiregional, not multiple origins. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 112: 129–136.
Zhao, Z., Jin, L., Fu, Y.-X., Ramsay, M., Jenkins, T., Leskinen, E., Pamilo, P., Trexler, M., Patthy, L., Jorde, L., Ramos-Onsins, S., Yu, N., and Li, W.-H. (2000). Worldwide DNA sequence variation in a 10-kilobase noncoding region on human chromosome 22. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA 97: 11354–11358.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stringer, C. Modern Human Origins—Distinguishing the Models. African Archaeological Review 18, 67–75 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011079908461
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011079908461