Chapter 8: Human Variation

Replacement Hypothesis
● Wherever H. erectus came to be, H. sapiens replaced them
● H. erectus evolved in Africa and dispersed into Europe and Asia
● Then early H. sapiens evolved in Africa and then migrated to and replaced
contemporaneous hominins (H. erectus, heidelbergensis, neaderthalensis)
● 3 predictions:
○ 1 wave of human dispersal and replacement of other congenera out of Africa
○ Modern humans are descendants of African H. sapiens
○ H. neanderthalensis is evolutionary dead end

Multiregional Hypothesis
● H. erectus evolved in Africa, moved to Europe and then Asia
● H. sapiens evolved in Africa, spread to Europe and then Asia
● Each region, gene flow spread H. sapiens traits among local populations (ie.
interbreeding)
○ H. sapiens did NOT replace other hominins
● Interbreeding between different H. erectus, and H. neanderthalensis
● 3 predictions:
○ No wave of H. sapien replacements
○ H. erectus most recent common ancestor of modern humans
○ H. neanderthalensis contributed to gene pool of some modern human
populations (not a dead end)
● We should be able to trace our genetic history all the way back to H. erectus

Alan Templeton’s “Out of Africa Again and Again”

● Analysis of multiple human genes reveals patterns of recurrent gene flow
● Multiple waves of humans out of Africa, and some came back in

Skin Colour Adaptations

● Results from variations in colour, size, density of melanin (mixture of biopolymers that
give colour to skin, hair, part of eye) granules produced in cells of upper layers of skin
(epidermis)
● race does not have anything to do with geography (i.e. geographic separation =
subspecies, but it isn’t bc of geographic separation that caused difference in skin colour)
● Lightered skinned individuals
○ Melanin granules are light coloured, small, lower in density
● Darker skinned individuals
○ Melanin granules darked in colour, larger, high in density
● African environments = high intensity ultraviolet radiation (UVR)
 ○ As early human ancestors dispersed across the globe, they became exposed to
different climates and UVR intensities
○ UVR intensity pronounced between equatorial regions (darker skin) and regions
near poles (lighter skin)
● Melanin does:
○ UVR Protection
■ Close to equator → need adaptation to filter harmful sunlight (UVR) from
skin
■ Dark Skin:
● Immediate, long-lasting protection from UVR
● Reduced rates of skin cancer
■ Tanning is not a good thing; body under attack
○ Nutrient Protection
■ Protects folate (vitamin reducing risk of birth defects, cardiac events,
improves cognitive function)
● found in vegetables (spinach, peas)
● Important to human reproduction
● Good folate = good infant health
● Highly sensitive to UVR (brief exposure reduces folate levels)
○ Vitamin D Synthesis
■ Humans in temporate regions have lighter skin pigmentation htna tthose
living in tropical parts of world
■ Humans need specific kind of UVR, known as UV-B to synthesize vitamin
D in our skin
■ Vitamin D found in few food
● Promotes bone growth
● Support immune system

Are There Human Races?

● No biological or phylogenetic ways to define a human race
● Race concepts based on everything from skin colour through region(s) of origin to
ethnicity
● Crude classification system typically involves self-identification based on up-bringing,
culture, ethnicity, etc.
● Morphological and genetic differences in human “races” much smaller than those
needed to consider nonhuman animals subspecies
● Culture is only an environmental construct
● dark brown skin is found in sub-Saharan Africans as well as people from southern Asia,
Australia, New Guinea and on nearby islands of Melanesia, as well as in much of the
Americas
○ Yet they represent separate human races??
Racial Abilities
● “racial” abilities not accepted or advocated by evolutionary anthropologists
● Why? Lack of scientific support for human races or “racial” abilities. Are black athletes
really 100% African? Has anyone actually proven racial differences in athletic,
intellectual, etc. abilities?
● Professional athletics perpetuate race myth in humans (cf. baseball)
● Most sports are about cultural and about opportunity (i.e. some places just have no
opportunities to do certain sports)
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