Faces of Africa

[Bawon Samedi]

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2007) — New research published in the journal Nature (19 July) has proved the single origin of humans theory by combining studies of global genetic variations in humans with skull measurements across the world. The research, at the University of Cambridge and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), represents a final blow for supporters of a multiple origins of humans theory.

Competing theories on the origins of anatomically modern humans claim that either humans originated from a single point in Africa and migrated across the world, or different populations independently evolved from homo erectus to home sapiens in different areas.

The Cambridge researchers studied genetic diversity of human populations around the world and measurements of over 6,000 skulls from across the globe in academic collections. Their research knocks down one of the last arguments in favour of multiple origins. The new findings show that a loss in genetic diversity the further a population is from Africa is mirrored by a loss in variation in physical attributes.

Lead researcher, Dr Andrea Manica from the University's Department of Zoology, explained: "The origin of anatomically modern humans has been the focus of much heated debate. Our genetic research shows the further modern humans have migrated from Africa the more genetic diversity has been lost within a population.

"However, some have used skull data to argue that modern humans originated in multiple spots around the world. We have combined our genetic data with new measurements of a large sample of skulls to show definitively that modern humans originated from a single area in Sub-saharan Africa."

The research team found that genetic diversity decreased in populations the further away from Africa they were - a result of 'bottlenecks' or events that temporarily reduced populations during human migration. They then studied an exceptionally large sample of human skulls. Taking a set of measurements across all the skulls the team showed that not only was variation highest amongst the sample from south eastern Africa but that it did decrease at the same rate as the genetic data the further the skull was away from Africa.

New Research Proves Single Origin Of Humans In Africa -- ScienceDaily

Like I said a million times. Africans are the most genetically/phenotypically diverse people on this planet.

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

Just want to point...

People will always point to someone like Alek Wek or a south Sudanese person and say "this is the one and only pure african" that is not the case, many light skinned people are even more "pure" than them, believe it or not.

The Nilotic people live the harshest conditions in Africa. There few trees in that region so they are exposed to direct sunlight everyday, the temperature is almost always above 100 degrees and there is barely any water. That is why they look the way they do.

People in other parts of Africa have adapted to their own particular climate. S.E Nigeria is heavily forested so there is enough shade for lighter skinned people to live normally.

Southern Africa is colder than other regions, thus the Khoisan have lighter skin. They also have epicanthal eye folds like the Asians because they live near the Kalahari desert region. Ethiopia is mountainous, so it is more temperate than other parts of the continent so the people are thinner noses, straighter hair, etc.

Also when I meant no one on this Earth is "pure" I meant every group of people on this Earth has foreign ancestry one way or the other. And also that some people are less admixed than the other. Its simply due constant gene flow around the globe, which is why I brought up "isolation". BUT...Just because some people have SLIGHT admixture does not mean it has a impact on there phenotype which is mostly due to climate, diet and other things. I never said everyone on this planet was mixed, but that everyone one has slight foreign ancestry going far back.

Just wanted to clear up somethings.

so the reason some ethiopians have straight hair and thin noses is because the temperature is cooler?dont buy this concept at all,not to mention their are ethiopians with typical african hair.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

so the reason some of them have straight hair is because the temperature is cooler?dont buy it,not to mention their are ethiopians with typical african hair.

First you have to define what is "African hair", because there are indigenous Africans that have hair like this, non kinky hair.

And no I never said straight hair comes from cooler temperatures but TEMPERATE climates... The boy in the picture and certain Ethiopians hair texture is not due to cooler climates but dry climates.

From Britannica Encyclopedia (1990 ed.)
East African local race, a subgroup, roughly corresponding to a breeding isolate in genetics, of the Negroid (African) geographical race, comprising the populations of East Africa and The Sudan. The physical type of the East African local race is primarily one of adaptation to a hot, dry climate; it is marked by long, thin body build, long, narrow face and nose, and moderate to heavy skin pigmentation. The Sudanese peoples are dark-skinned and extremely tall and thin (linear) in build. The other East African populations are also more or less linear in build and somewhat lighter skinned than the Sudanese. All have dark eyes and dark hair, wavy to frizzy in texture.

Case and point.

Somali:

Also with Ethiopians you have to be specific, their not one homogeneous group but with many ethnic groups.

 

[dontreadthis]

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

First you have to define what is "African hair", because there are indigenous Africans that have hair like this, non kinky hair.

And no I never said straight hair comes from cooler temperatures but TEMPERATE climates... The boy in the picture and certain Ethiopians hair texture is not due to cooler climates but dry climates.

From Britannica Encyclopedia (1990 ed.)
East African local race, a subgroup, roughly corresponding to a breeding isolate in genetics, of the Negroid (African) geographical race, comprising the populations of East Africa and The Sudan. The physical type of the East African local race is primarily one of adaptation to a hot, dry climate; it is marked by long, thin body build, long, narrow face and nose, and moderate to heavy skin pigmentation. The Sudanese peoples are dark-skinned and extremely tall and thin (linear) in build. The other East African populations are also more or less linear in build and somewhat lighter skinned than the Sudanese. All have dark eyes and dark hair, wavy to frizzy in texture.

Case and point.

Somali:

Also with Ethiopians you have to be specific, their not one homogeneous group but with many ethnic groups.

i said typical african hair, which means the hair that the majority of africans have.
so what your saying is the horn of africa is the only part of the continent with a so called hot and dry climate? even so, that still doesnt answer my question why are there ethiopians without these features yet they live in the same environment?

 

[Bawon Samedi]

i said typical african hair, which means the hair that the majority of africans have.
so what your saying is the horn of africa is the only part of the continent with a so called hot and dry climate? even so, that still doesnt answer my question why are there ethiopians without these features yet they live in the same environment?

When did I say that???

Also for Ethiopia, the climate/environment themselves are diverse. The Suri people of Ethiopia live in a different area, they live near the equator like most nilotic groups do, specifically southeast Ethiopia near South Sudan.

While these Ethiopian Oromos live on the mountains where its dry and temperate.

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

When did I say that???

Also for Ethiopia, the climate/environment themselves are diverse. The Suri people of Ethiopia live in a different area, they live near the equator like most nilotic groups do, specifically southeast Ethiopia near South Sudan.

While these Ethiopian Oromos live on the mountains where its dry and temperate.

i know there diverse but you were saying they get their features from the climate rather than it being their dna/genes.logically speaking that would mean horn of africans are the only ones with that particular climate.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

i know there diverse but you were saying they get their features from the climate rather than it being their dna/genes.logically speaking that would mean horn of africans are the only ones with that particular climate.

Aye...Phenotype has to do with environmental adaption for the most part and I believe I posted many studies on this thread saying that.

These Somali has wavy/loose hair.

If he is mixed with "Arab"(which is not even a real "race"), then why does he have stereotypical African features and dark skin?

And like I already said before the horn is NOT the only region with that climate...

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

Aye...Phenotype has to do with environmental adaption for the most part and I believe I posted many studies on this thread saying that.

These Somali has wavy/loose hair.

If he is mixed with "Arab"(which is not even a real "race"), then why does he have stereotypical African features and dark skin?

And like I already said before the horn is NOT the only region with that climate...

if their not the only region with that climate then thats your theory out the window because they as far as i know are the only type of africans with those features (straight hair e.t.c). and btw you can be dark and still mixed (not saying they are)

 

[Drummage_EL]

Because the models have tropical body plans...Body plans which evolved in the tropics. Which includes big butts.

Those whores probably got those "tropical" bodies through surgery. He or she could've used pictures of natural women in Africa.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

if their not the only region with that climate then thats your theory out the window because they as far as i know are the only type of africans with those features (straight hair e.t.c). and btw you can be dark and still mixed (not saying they are)

How the does that throw the theory out the window when its NOT a theory?

As for the bolded, did I not post this Sudanese boy who is not from the Horn?

Wavy/loose hair like boy above is due to dry climate.

 

[Virtuous_Brotha]

How the does that throw the theory out the window when its NOT a theory?

As for the bolded, did I not post this Sudanese boy who is not from the Horn?

Wavy/loose hair like boy above is due to dry climate.

i'll stop we going round in circles now but north sudanese cluster with horners thats common knowledge

 

[Bawon Samedi]

i'll stop we going round in circles now but north sudanese cluster with horners thats common knowledge

Never heard about that, but I suppose we can agree to disagree.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

The diversity of Africans, which includes ancient Egyptian; and Berber speakers, is real and largely indigenous. An evolutionary perspective helps us understand why. Modem Homo sapiens have lived in Africa longer than anywhere else, according to most scholars. This length of time means that more random genetic mutations, the ultimate source of genetic variation, have accumulated in Africa. Furthermore, Africa is climatically and ecologically diverse. This favors diversification by Darwinian selection. The continent is large, which allows great movements and fissioning of populations. This promotes random genetic variation, since small portions of larger populations rarely accurately represent the range of genetic variation in a larger group, whether it is ancestral or exists at the same time... Why are these data important? Because they indicate that the background genetic variation of Europeans, Oceanians, and Asians originated in Africa and precedes in time the presence of modern humans in these areas. Europeans and Asian-Australians did develop more unique genetic profiles over time, but had a common background before their average "uniqueness" emerged. This background is African in a bio-historical sense. Therefore, it should not be surprising that some Africans share similarities with non-Africans.(S. Keita, "The Diversity of Indigenous Africans," in Egypt in Africa, Theodore Clenko, Editor (1996), pp. 104-105.

 

[Danie84]

BLACKEXCELLENCE in all hues