Where Is The "Cradle Of Humankind"? Turns Out, That May Be The Wrong Question
The answer may change depending on who - and what - you ask.
Dr. Katie Spalding
Where is the "Cradle Of Humankind"?
When we hear the phrase “cradle of humanity” – the point in the world from which all human life sprang – there’s one place that usually springs to mind: Africa.
That’s… vague, but not wrong. The group of apes that would eventually become humans first diverged from chimpanzees, our nearest relatives in the evolutionary tree, around six or seven million years ago – and as you might guess from the fact that our hairier cousins still live there, it did indeed occur on the continent of Africa. Specifically, if the results of a 2022 Oxford University study are to be believed, Sudan.
But the story of human evolution certainly doesn’t end there – and, perhaps surprisingly, it doesn’t begin there either. As more and better research and analysis continue to come to light about our ancient origins, the question has to be asked… have we got the “cradle of humankind” all wrong?
“Instead of thinking about our origins like a tree with a single trunk, perhaps the more accurate view is a complex braided stream,” PBS suggests. “An intertwined story of migrations, transitions, and exchanges between various ancient populations that unfolded over vast time and space.”
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