Migration Out of Africa to Avoid Drying Climate

A new study found that ancient humans migrated from Africa to escape a drying climate. It happened for about 60, 000 years ago. The study got published in the journal Geology. The genetic research indicates that the migration probably occurred between 70,000 and 55,000 years ago.

The co - author of study Dr. Peter deMenocal of Columbia University said that it proposed earlier that out-of-Africa migration was facilitated by wet periods that built green corridors to Eurasia. Dr. Peter added that they still have to revise this model to know about pushing of people out due to unfavorable conditions.

The authors of study traced the Horn of Africa’s climate 200,000 years into the past by examining a core of ocean sediment taken in the western end of the Gulf of Aden which is the present day Somalia.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Jessica Tierney from the University of Arizona said that their data indicates that when most of the species left Africa, the conditions were dry and not wet in northeast Africa.

By: Bhavna Sharma

Content: http://www.sci-news.com/geology/humans-out-of-africa-escape-drying-climate-05331.html