Ingman et al. 2000

Origin & Migration of modern humans:
the "Out of Africa" hypothesis

    Family tree of 53 individual humans, based on a phylogenetic analysis of the complete (16,587bp) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome (Ingman et al. 2000). It must be emphasized that the tree shows individuals, who are not necessarily representative of the group with which they are identified.

    Four major groups are identified: three of these (shown in purple) are composed exclusively of African individuals, which is consistent with the African theory of human origins, since the oldest human group is expected to have the greatest genetic diversity. The fourth group (indicated by the *) consists of three sub-groups, one African (in green) and the other two (in red and blue) comprising various Eurasian, Asian, New World, and Australian individuals. Europeans fall entirely in the blue group (Haplogroup M). The common origin of the latter groups  is consistent with the "Out of Africa" hypothesis, that all Australian, East Asian, Central Asian, European, and New World peoples have come from a relatively small group that expanded outward from Africa about 40,000 years ago.


    Detailed analysis of this group can be used to investigate patterns of historical migration, for example in the founding population of the island of Newfoundland, Britain's first overseas colony.


Diagram slightly adapted & redrawn from Ingman et al. (2000); text material ©2008 by Steven M. Carr