20
Human Diversity and Its History
HENRY C. HARPENDING AND ELISE ELLER
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Abstract
In the last decade a large amount of new genetic data from human populations has
appeared. The most informative of the new loci are STR (short tandem repeat)
polymorphisms, because they are not subject to the ascertainment biases that affect
classical markers and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). These loci show a
marked diversity cline away from Mrica, as they should if a version of the SaM
(single origin model) is correct for our species. But the new data have not given us
many insights into ancient population history and movements: they generally show
that neighboring popUlations are similar to each other and that similarity declines
with geographic distance. Much interesting human history has been blurred and
erased by recurrent local gene flow. Other genetic and non-genetic markers, like
language and physical appearance, may have better "memories" and tell us more
about ancient populations movements and relationships.
1 Introduction
New technology for ascertaining and typing genetic markers has given anthropologists a flood of data in the last decade. Today a single publication can present more
and better data than the sum of everything available in the literature before 1985 or
so. The new data have essentially confirmed the SaM model (single origin model)
of human history, in which we are descended from a small founding population
that was probably in Mrica.
Many of us did not foresee that we would infer demographic history from genetic data. On the other hand we did foresee that more and better genetic data
Key words. modern human origins, Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), race, sexual selection
301
Human Diversity and Its History
HENRY C. HARPENDING AND ELISE ELLER
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Abstract
In the last decade a large amount of new genetic data from human populations has
appeared. The most informative of the new loci are STR (short tandem repeat)
polymorphisms, because they are not subject to the ascertainment biases that affect
classical markers and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). These loci show a
marked diversity cline away from Mrica, as they should if a version of the SaM
(single origin model) is correct for our species. But the new data have not given us
many insights into ancient population history and movements: they generally show
that neighboring popUlations are similar to each other and that similarity declines
with geographic distance. Much interesting human history has been blurred and
erased by recurrent local gene flow. Other genetic and non-genetic markers, like
language and physical appearance, may have better "memories" and tell us more
about ancient populations movements and relationships.
1 Introduction
New technology for ascertaining and typing genetic markers has given anthropologists a flood of data in the last decade. Today a single publication can present more
and better data than the sum of everything available in the literature before 1985 or
so. The new data have essentially confirmed the SaM model (single origin model)
of human history, in which we are descended from a small founding population
that was probably in Mrica.
Many of us did not foresee that we would infer demographic history from genetic data. On the other hand we did foresee that more and better genetic data
Key words. modern human origins, Short Tandem Repeats (STRs), race, sexual selection
301