Is beautiful Botswana the home of Mitochondrial Eve?
A group of researchers have concluded that it is. It all started with the observation that the so-called human mitogenomic tree seems to converge on the LO mitogenomes. By collecting over 1,000 versions of these, the researchers were able to identify a common source. This dated back 200,000 years to northern Botswana. So, this is where Mitochondrial Eve lived; it’s quite a thought. NB Mitochondrial Eve is not the first human, just the one from whom all today’s humans descend. Further research identifies two migrations away from this green and pleasant land. The second one, 110,000 years ago, went north-east, interbreeding with other humans along the way. Eventually our ex-Botswana migrants crossed into Asia, where interbreeding also took place with Neanderthals and Denisovans. It’s a neat story, too neat for some critics.
Link to article: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2019/10/31/where-was-eden-perhaps-in-a-sun-baked-salt-plain-in-botswana
You may also like to browse other Evolution posts: https://www.thesentientrobot.com/category/evolution/
