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Cited by 54Forensic and Genetic ResearchGenetic diversity and population structurePleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

Local Extinction and Recolonization, Species Effective Population Size, and Modern Human Origins

Eller, Elise, Hawks, John, Relethford, John H.·2009·Human Biology
DOI 10.3378/027.081.0623
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Abstract

A primary objection from a population genetics perspective to a multiregional model of modern human origins is that the model posits a large census size, whereas genetic data suggest a small effective population size. The relationship between census size and effective size is complex, but arguments based on an island model of migration show that if the effective population size reflects the number of breeding individuals and the effects of population subdivision, then an effective population size of 10,000 is inconsistent with the census size of 500,000 to 1,000,000 that has been suggested by archeological evidence. However, these models have ignored the effects of population extinction and recolonization, which increase the expected variance among demes and reduce the inbreeding effective population size. Using models developed for population extinction and recolonization, we show that a large census size consistent with the multiregional model can be reconciled with an effective population size of 10,000, but genetic variation among demes must be high, reflecting low interdeme migration rates and a colonization process that involves a small number of colonists or kin-structured colonization. Ethnographic and archeological evidence is insufficient to determine whether such demographic conditions existed among Pleistocene human populations, and further work needs to be done. More realistic models that incorporate isolation by distance and heterogeneity in extinction rates and effective deme sizes also need to be developed. However, if true, a process of population extinction and recolonization has interesting implications for human demographic history.

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  • Only with the acquisition of fire and tool use and weapons did death from predation become rare.

    “Only with the acquisition of fire and tool use and weapons did death from predation become rare (Eller et al. 2009; Harding et al. 1997; Speakman 2014).”

    From Motion sickness: more than nausea and vomiting (2014) · cites this paper as Eller et al. 2009

  • Australopithecus was heavily preyed on by dinofelis, which hunted paranthropus and homo habilis as shown by skulls with saber canine punctures.

    “In the evolutionary history of man, Australopithecus was heavily preyed on by dinofelis, a type of saber-toothed cat with especially strong forelimbs for grasping prey. It hunted paranthropus and homo habilis as shown by skulls found with the typical twin punctures delivered by saber canine teeth.”

    From Motion sickness: more than nausea and vomiting (2014) · cites this paper as Eller et al. 2009

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Authors
Eller, E., Hawks, J., & Relethford, J. H.
Affiliations
  • University of Colorado Health (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • SUNY Oneonta (US)
ORCID
Venue
Human Biology
Publisher
Human Biology (The International Journal of Population Biology and Genetics)
Published
2009-12
Volume
81
Issue
5-6
Pages
805-824
ISSN
  • 0018-7143 (ISSN-L)
  • 1534-6617
DOI
10.3378/027.081.0623
OpenAlex
W2159818814
Cited by
54
References
68
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 7
FWCI
3.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Human Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Human Biology (submittedVersion)
  • Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
  • BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • National Eye Institute
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Forensic and Genetic Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
Keywords
human origins, multiregional model, effective population size, local extinction, recolonization, human demographic history, island model
MeSH terms
Anthropology, Cultural, Consanguinity, Biological Evolution, Genetics, Population, Humans, Models, Genetic, Population Density, Genetic Variation, Founder Effect, History, 21st Century, Extinction, Biological

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