Teeth from China Reveal Homo Sapien Migration from Africa 100,000 Years Ago

     In an interesting and monumental find, archaeologists have now discovered teeth believed to be from Homo sapiens from a cave in South China. The teeth, along with remains from other species such as hyenas and extinct giant pandas, were discovered in limestone caves in the Daoxian County in Hunan Province, China. Further investigations of the teeth determined the teeth to be around 100,000 years old, countering the popular belief that humans had not trekked far from Africa during this time period. For a long time, researchers had argued that the humans who traveled out of Africa into Israel about 100,000 years ago, around the same time as the remains found in China, was a result of a failed attempt to further disperse.

     With this find, some researchers are wondering why these humans decided to travel to Asia rather than Europe, which was considerably closer geographically. Some have hypothesized that due to the Ice Age in Europe, the humans leaving Africa were not accustomed to the colder weather and decided to venture out toward Asia instead. In addition, these humans may have been prevented from being a dominant force in Europe do the heavy presence of Neanderthals, only being able to live there during the brink of the Neanderthal extinction. Interestingly, genetic evidence suggests that modern Asians are descendants of Homo sapiens who interbred with Neanderthals. Regardless, this monumental find will no doubt lead to other major discoveries that will allow us to further piece the puzzle together.

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/teeth-from-china-reveal-early-human-trek-out-of-africa/

Possible Midterm Questions:
1) Compare and contrast the historical development of Australasia and Africa. (Chapter 1)
2) What roles do religion and magic play in the story of Sundiata?
3) Compare and contrast the spread of Islam in North Africa and West Africa. (Chapter 7)
4) What were the differences between the West African coast and the East African coast in terms of
     the sea trade? (Chapter 8)
5) What were the reasons why Africans were better suited as slaves in the Americas over Indians and
     Europeans? (Chapter 9)