Since the birth of human beings, we have been asking: what exactly do human beings come from?
If we extend time far enough, humans and all other species on Earth all originated from primitive life about 3.5 billion years ago. However, 3.5 billion years is too long, and we want to know more about what species evolved from humans.
From an evolutionary point of view, the common ancestor of human beings is the "ape" of millions of years ago, and we must not be confused by the name "ape", which is only our definition of human ancestors, and "ape" is fundamentally different from today's apes.
So, what about us Chinese?Where did the ancestors of the Chinese originate?
In fact, any question involving the origin of human beings is a rather grand question, which will involve many disciplines, such as biology, anthropology, naturalism, molecular biology, etc., which cannot be solved by relying on evolution alone.
With the vigorous development of the above disciplines, scientists have classified the species on the earth in detail, from large to small, they are the animal kingdom, chordates, symphyta, mammals, primates, apes, hominidae, hominus, genus, and race. Of course, this classification is actually quite general, it is a very simple version, if you want to list them all, I'm afraid you need a long **, as a popular science for the general public, there is no need to analyze it in such detail, I don't have that kind of professional knowledge.
However, the above classification has roughly given the entire evolution process of human beings, and also let us know that today's Asians, Africans and Europeans are all the same race, Homo sapiens. Specifically, it is such a process, and the following is a minimalist history of human evolution.
First of all, what is the definition of human beings?In other words, the evolution process from apes to humans, at what stage can we be called "humans"?
In fact, there is no clear dividing line, because the evolution of any species is not completed by "clicking", it is not a clear distinction, it is a rather vague and long process. The definition of human beings in biology is actually very simple: when the brain volume reaches 650 ml, it can be called human.
By this standard, the first species of human evolution was Homo sapiens, which appeared in Africa about 2 million years ago. Homo sapiens later evolved into other genera and species, such as Homo erectus, both of which appeared about 1.8 million years ago, and both of whom had learned to use fire.
When we were in school, we all learned Peking Man, Lantian Man, and Cave Man, all of whom lived in our country, and these people actually belonged to the category of Homo erectus.
After the craftsmen and Homo erectus, there were also the Heidelberg people, who spread across Eurasia about 600,000 years ago. After the Heidelberg people, there are Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans that many people are more familiar with.
Modern mainstream scholarship believes that Homo heidelbergensis, Neanderthalian man, and Peking Man in China all evolved from Homo erectus.
There may be many people who are not convinced in this way, after all, the above classification of people in the end is a bit general, it seems to be empty, and the evidence is in
Indeed, before the advent of modern biology, scientists could basically only describe the history of human evolution based on fossils and other relevant evidence. However, with the advent of molecular biology and genetic science, we have stronger evidence that we can trace chromosomes to find a common ancestor of humans.
Specifically, the common ancestor of males is traced through the Y chromosome, and the common ancestor of females is traced through mitochondrial DNA. The reason is also very simple, because the Y chromosome is only transmitted to males and not females, and all males have Y chromosomes, while mitochondrial DNA is just the opposite, which is transmitted to females but not males.
Through detailed tracing analysis, the scientists concluded that the ancestors of modern men, the most recent ancestors, can be traced back to Africa about 60,000 years ago, while the ancestors of modern women are from Africa about 140,000 years ago.
Molecular biology is a rigorous science, after all, human DNA does not lie. That is, it turns out that the ancestors of modern humans did come from Africa. Based on this, scientists have even mapped the path of mankind out of Africa to the continents of the world.
In this case, of course, our Chinese ancestors also originated in Africa, to be precise, Homo sapiens in Africa.
However, it is necessary to emphasize here that many people have a misunderstanding of the view that "human ancestors originated in Africa", and will subconsciously mistake that "human ancestors are modern Africans", and because Africa is relatively backward, many people are very disgusted from the bottom of their hearts.
In fact, this is a misunderstanding, modern human beings originated in Africa, and have nothing to do with today's Africans, it can only be said that today's Asians, Europeans, and Africans all have a common ancestor, but this ancestor originated in Africa. For example, the ancestors of human beings were "great apes" millions of years ago, and such apes are not related to today's apes, let alone the same species.
At the same time, there is a common misconception. Many people think that human beings originated alone, but in fact, human beings originated from many places.
What does that mean exactly?To understand the difference between a single origin and multiple origins, we must first understand what the concept of "human ancestors" is.
The concept of human ancestors, which seems simple, is actually quite complex, and everyone's opinion may be different. A fact that many people don't know is that genetic studies have found that modern Asians and Europeans still have about 4% Neanderthal genes, and Oceania humans still have about 2%-5% Denisovan genes.
Obviously, this shows that Homo sapiens, the ancestor of modern humans, had communication with Neanderthals and Denisovans, and the three races must have lived together for a long time and reproduced.
In this way, are Neanderthals and Denisovans the ancestors of our modern humans?
The answer is obviously yes, the above two races are actually the ancestors of modern humans. In the same way, earlier Homo erectus should also be the ancestors of modern man, but an earlier ancestor. However, due to the age of time, it is difficult for us to effectively track through DNA, let alone know how many Homo erectus genes are in the genes of modern humans.
But there is a high probability that it is also true, the genes in our Chinese bodies will also contain the genes of Peking ape man, Lantian man, and cave man at the top of the mountain, and they should also be regarded as the ancestors of our Chinese.
At this point, perhaps we should understand that any question involving human ancestors or the ancestors of the Chinese will not be so absolute, and there will be no "one-size-fits-all" or "either/or" answers, more depending on what angle you analyze it.
In terms of the larger category of species, the ancestors of modern humans did originate in Africa, from Homo sapiens in Africa. However, from the perspective of genetic inheritance, due to the long-term genetic exchange between different races, there are many genes of modern human races, so it can also be said that these races are actually the ancestors of modern humans, of course, the ancestors of our Chinese!