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Climatic windows for human migration out of Africa in the past 300,000 years

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  • Robert M. Beyer

    (University of Cambridge
    Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • Mario Krapp

    (University of Cambridge
    GNS Science)

  • Anders Eriksson

    (University of Tartu
    King’s College London)

  • Andrea Manica

    (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

Whilst an African origin of modern humans is well established, the timings and routes of their expansions into Eurasia are the subject of heated debate, due to the scarcity of fossils and the lack of suitably old ancient DNA. Here, we use high-resolution palaeoclimate reconstructions to estimate how difficult it would have been for humans in terms of rainfall availability to leave the African continent in the past 300k years. We then combine these results with an anthropologically and ecologically motivated estimate of the minimum level of rainfall required by hunter-gatherers to survive, allowing us to reconstruct when, and along which geographic paths, expansions out of Africa would have been climatically feasible. The estimated timings and routes of potential contact with Eurasia are compatible with archaeological and genetic evidence of human expansions out of Africa, highlighting the key role of palaeoclimate variability for modern human dispersals.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert M. Beyer & Mario Krapp & Anders Eriksson & Andrea Manica, 2021. "Climatic windows for human migration out of Africa in the past 300,000 years," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-24779-1
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24779-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Perryman, Holly A. & Kaplan, Isaac C. & Blanchard, Julia L. & Fay, Gavin & Gaichas, Sarah K. & McGregor, Vidette L. & Morzaria-Luna, Hem Nalini & Porobic, Javier & Townsend, Howard & Fulton, Elizabeth, 2023. "Atlantis Ecosystem Model Summit 2022: Report from a workshop," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 483(C).
    2. Pilowsky, Julia A. & Manica, Andrea & Brown, Stuart & Rahbek, Carsten & Fordham, Damien A., 2022. "Simulations of human migration into North America are more sensitive to demography than choice of palaeoclimate model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 473(C).
    3. Elías Albagli & Pablo García Silva & Gonzalo García-Trujillo & María Antonia Yung, 2024. "Through Drought and Flood: the past, present and future of Climate Migration," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 1019, Central Bank of Chile.

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