The question of human origin is one of the most disputable issues in modern science. The most accepted theory is that all humans originated from the common ancestor living in Africa and due to this they have the same set of genes. However, after the detailed analysis of the Neanderthal genome Dr. Svante Paabo and the group of scientists working at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany) reported that human genome has an imprint of Neanderthal genes. According to the results of their research up to 4 percent of all genes of modern non-African humans can be derived from Neanderthals. Dr. Paabo asserts that there existed several cases of interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals and that these cases occurred in the Middle East from 100,000 to 60,000 years ago. They base their assertion on the samples of the Neanderthal DNA taken from the bones discovered in the Vindija cave in Croatia.
This assertion greatly contradicts with the conventional science that states that there were no scientifically essential cases of interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals and even if such cases took place it was possible not earlier than 40,000 years ago. Furthermore, it was possible in Europe but not in the Middle East.
Still, the importance of the research conducted in Leipzig is impossible to underestimate since it can shed light on human prehistory and it is able to undercut the theory about common origin of all humans from one ancestor and their having the same gene pool. This research can prove that non-African humans originated from the second gene pool and it explains the difference between the genes of Africans and non-Africans.
Works Cited
Wade, Nicholas. “Signs of Neanderthals Mating with Humans.” New York Times. New York Times, May 6, 2010. Web. 13 September 2012.
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