Human beliefs are always in constant change. Humanity’s growth is inevitable, and the more we evolve, the more our prior beliefs are challenged by new discoveries. Our technological advancements have aided in accelerating our growth.

 

One of the most beneficial technological advancements for archaeologists was ability to produce absolute dates. These techniques have helped solidify our beliefs in human migration, as well as challenge them. By using dating techniques, such as radiocarbon and uranium series dating, archaeologists have been able to determine the span of time in which humanity began to spread across the globe.  

 

The beginning of humankind is believed to have originated in Africa. Then, some 60,000-50,000 years ago the exodus from Africa, also known as the “Out of Africa” expansion, began (Renfrew 134). However, multiple recent discoveries have challenged these widely accepted dates of migration.  

 

 

 

In April of 2018, archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany discovered an 85,000 year old human finger bone in the Saudi Arabian dessert. This is the oldest human bone to be found outside of Africa or the Levant. Archaeologists used uranium series dating, which uses the radioactive decay of isotopes of uranium, to date the bone (Renfrew 127). Forty seven human teeth found in Fuyan Cave in Daoxian, southern China, were dated from 80,000 up to 120,000 years ago. Even more of this trend of discoveries have been made around the world, in Israel and Australia, which go against the textbook dates of world chronology (Flynn).

These discoveries have created questions in regards to how the “Out of Africa” expansion took place. It was believed that the migration was done so in a collective way, however, these findings suggest the migration began 20,000-25,000 thousand years earlier than previously thought (Scott). The location of the bone, far into what was thousands of years ago a grassland, also indicates that humans had traveled much farther. Studies into this discovery also shows that humans migrated little by little instead of all together at once. These findings could even push back the date of Homo Sapiens evolution back even further.

The world of archaeology is ever expanding; what seems to be a universal theory now can easily be replaced tomorrow. Advancements in technology will continue to aid in the search for new information. With every new update in equipment comes information we had not been previously able to obtain.

 

Additional readings

“Earliest Human Remains Outside Africa Were Just Discovered in Israel.” www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/earliest-humans-remains-outside-africa-just-discovered-israel-180967952/.

“Human remains from Zhirendong, South China, and modern human emergence in East Asia”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984215/

 

Work cited

Scott, Katy. “Ancient Finger Bone Could Challenge Theory of Modern Migration.” CNN, Cable

News Network, 9 Apr. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/04/09/health/saudi-arabia-fossil-finger/index.html.

Flynn, Meagan. “An 85,000-Year-Old Finger Fossil May Challenge Theories about How Early

Humans Migrated from Africa.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Apr. 2018,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/10/an-85000-year-old-finger-f

ossil-may-challenge-theories-about-how-early-humans-migrated-from-africa/?noredirect

=on&utm_term=.081aba75ebd8.

Bahn, Paul and Colin Renfrew 2010  Archaeology Essentials. 2nd Edition Thames & Hudson              —–x—-Inc., New York, NY.

 

 

Image Sources

Bahn, Paul and Colin Renfrew 2010  Archaeology Essentials. 2nd Edition Thames & Hudson              —–x—-Inc., New York, NY.

Flynn, Meagan. “An 85,000-Year-Old Finger Fossil May Challenge Theories about How Early

Humans Migrated from Africa.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Apr. 2018,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/04/10/an-85000-year-old-finger-f

ossil-may-challenge-theories-about-how-early-humans-migrated-from-africa/?noredirect

=on&utm_term=.081aba75ebd8.