Source of 52,000 years figure for African diaspora
>
>CB: Once again, here is a point at which materialism, historical
>materialism ,impinges. Actually, in this case, we agree with you. Our
>perspective on capitalism is based on a theory , historical materialism,
>which understands it in relation to the whole history of humanity, 52, 000
>years, or even earlier. We also give special attention to the rise of class
>exploitative society.
Well, I've actually not encountered any serious discussions by Marx or
commentators on him that give much weight to the issue that far back,
((((((((((
CB: Check out Engels _The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State_ . Of
course, they didn't have the 52,000 years figure. I added some more recent info. There
is Eleanor Leacock, a modern anthropologist , who wrote the intro to Engels book in an
International publishers edition to update it with 20th Century anthro. The
acknowledgement of the long history ( but with only 19th Century data) is implicit in
Marx and Engels approach. Marx wrote some notebooks on precapitalist formations .
(((((((((
Further proof based on genetic research in support of the "Out of Africa"
thesis in a New York Times article seems to demonstrate conclusively that
homo sapiens moved out of the continent as late as 52,000 years ago.
Study Supports Theory That Modern Humans Originated in Africa
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/07/science/07HUMAN-ORIGINS.html
December 7, 2000
By REUTERS
LONDON - The "Out of Africa" theory that modern man evolved there and
spread across the world got a boost on Wednesday with new research
tracing humans from diverse ethnic and geographical backgrounds
back to that continent.
Swedish scientists used mitochondrial DNA -- genetic material in a
cell that is passed unchanged from mother to child -- from 53
people to show that the human evolutionary tree is firmly rooted in
Africa.
``This is the first study in which the genome is being used in a
sufficiently large number of individuals to come up with very
strong evidence, in this case supporting the 'Out of Africa'
theory,'' Professor Ulf Gyllensten said in a telephone interview.
The biologist and geneticist at the University of Uppsala said that
even scientists who believe modern humans evolved simultaneously in
several parts of the globe would now have to acknowledge that
humans originate largely from Africa.
``It could be the end of the argument so far that there is an
African origin,'' Gyllensten added.
Gyllensten and his colleagues traced the ancestry of 53 people from
DNA blood samples that were used in another scientific study. The
people came from different continents and populations.
Because mitochondrial DNA is inherited only via the mother, it is a
good way to trace genetic lineage.
The results, which are published in the science journal Nature,
show that all the people tested have origins in Africa and that the
migration from the continent began 52,000 years ago, not 100,000
years ago as was previously thought.
``Our results point to something around 52,000 years ago. Other
estimates have pointed to 100,000 years ago but I think we have
more accurate information,'' according to Gyllensten.
In a commentary on the research in Nature, S. Blair Hedges, of
Pennsylvania State University, described the Swedish research as
the most thorough analysis yet of divergences in human
mitochondrial DNA.
``The upshot is a robust tree rooted in Africa, which times the
exodus from Africa to within the past 100,000 years. With this
result, the pendulum swings further toward the claim that modern
humans, Homo sapiens, originated in Africa,'' Hedges said.
He added that the evolutionary tree, which has more data than
similar studies, indicates that some Africans are closer to
Europeans and Asians than to other Africans.
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