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Overview
Genetic analysis has helped scientists paint a more sophisticated picture of human history. Science can now offer new insights into the evolution of humanity and major social issues, such as race and discrimination.
A lot of people have wondered what the world was like in a different time. However, modern science may make this possible by using genetics to look at how culture developed and human migration patterns. New scientific approaches can explain many things about humans, including race and ancestry. It is interesting that as we learn more about our species with genetics, we realize just how similar we all really are.
In this piece, you’ll learn that everyone is descended from royalty and how genetic tests to determine Native American ancestry are unscientific hogwash.
Big Idea #1: DNA sequencing helps biologists understand genetic history.
When you read history books, it seems like the events are set in stone. However, when you go back further in time, our knowledge becomes less clear. While historians agree on what happened in ancient Greece, as we delve deeper into the past, it is difficult to pinpoint the truth.
Although genetic analysis can give us a deeper look into the past, it is still limited. This technology rests on the discoveries of Gregor Mendel, Francis Crick and James Watson who were able to unravel some of DNA’s mysteries.
Scientists at the Human Genome Project deciphered a full set of human DNA in 2000. This allowed medical science to study the genes of living humans and extract DNA from archeological samples to learn about our ancient ancestors. This new field is called paleogenetics, which uses DNA to tell an exciting story.
Modern humans are known as Homo sapiens or “wise man”. But before we evolved, other species like Homo neanderthalensis, Homo habilis, Homo ergaster and others existed.
Homo erectus was one of the earliest upright apes. They evolved on the African continent about 1.9 million years ago, before spreading to other parts of the world. Homo sapiens likely also emerged in Africa around 200,000 years ago and left Africa to enter Eurasia where they encountered another species called Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals).
In the end, our two species had a lot of sex. In fact, it’s been found that Europeans share 2.7 percent of their genes with Neanderthals. So while they may have died out as a separate species, they never truly went extinct because they merged with us instead.
Big Idea #2: Changes in the environment and culture leave marks.
Genetic analysis can help us understand human evolution. It can also shed light on the development of culture because changes in cultural practices impact our genes, leaving clues to their existence.
Milk is a great example of this. While most adults can’t digest milk, some people are able to drink it with no problem. Why?
Because humans have a gene called LCT (lactase), which is needed to digest milk. However, this gene goes inactive after infancy for most people except those of European descent.
The ability to digest milk emerged in Europe between 5,000 and 10,000 BCE. This was due to a single letter change in the LCT gene brought about by dairy farming.
Lactase persistence, a trait that allows humans to digest lactose, likely emerged in what is now Slovakia, Poland or Hungary. Meanwhile there are groups of people who have evolved the ability to digest lactose in Africa and Asia. Simply put, lactase persistence was advantageous during human evolution and thus selected for. Genetic analysis also shows us how human migration took place as well as our genetic adaptation to different environments such as skin color changes due to migration from Africa to Europe 50k years ago when dark-skinned people migrated northward into sunny weather which resulted in light-skinned genes being selected for (a natural response).
