Competing Hypotheses
The multiregional hypothesis, initially proposed by Milford Wolpoff, holds that the evolution of humans from H. erectus at the beginning of the Pleistocene 1.8 million years BP has been within a single, continuous worldwide population. Proponents of multiregional origin reject the assumption of an infertility barrier between ancient Eurasian and African populations of Homo. Multiregional proponents point to the fossil record and genetic evidence in chromosomal DNA. One study suggested that at least 5% of the human modern gene pool can be attributed to ancient admixture, which in Europe would be from the Neanderthals. But the study also suggests that there may be other reasons why humans and Neanderthals share ancient genetic lineages.
Read more about this topic: Recent Single Origin Hypothesis
Famous quotes containing the words competing and/or hypotheses:
“The first wrote, Wine is the strongest. The second wrote, The king is strongest. The third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory.”
—Apocrypha. 1 Esdras, 3:10-12.
Referring to “three young men” of the bodyguard of Darius, king of the Persians, competing for his favor.
“We shall do better to abandon the whole attempt to learn the truth ... unless we can trust to the human mind’s having such a power of guessing right that before very many hypotheses shall have been tried, intelligent guessing may be expected to lead us to one which will support all tests, leaving the vast majority of possible hypotheses unexamined.”
—Charles S. Pierce (1839–1914)