Out of Africa by spontaneous migration waves

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201998
• Publication Date: 2019-04-23T17:25:27Z
• Authors: Paul D. Bons; Catherine C. Bauer; Hervé Bocherens; Tamara de Riese; Dorothée G. Drucker; Michael Francken; Lumila Menéndez; Alexandra Uhl; Boudewijn P. van ...; Christoph Wißing
• Keywords: Assortative mating; Out of africa; Human migration

Hominin evolution is characterized by progressive regional differentiation, as well migration waves, leading to anatomically modern humans that are assumed have emerged in Africa and spread over the whole world. Why or whether was source region of what caused their remains subject ongoing debate. We present a spatially explicit, stochastic numerical model includes mutations, demic diffusion, assortative mating waves. Diffusion alone result structured population with relatively homogeneous regions bound sharp clines. The addition waves results power-law distribution wave areas: for every large wave, many more small expected occur. This suggests one out-of-Africa migrations would probably been accompanied numerous smaller across considered "spontaneous", current excludes environmental other extrinsic factors. Large preferentially emanate from central areas large, compact inhabited areas. During Pleistocene, largest such area most time, making statistically likely origin humans, without need invoke additional ecological drivers.