Early human migrations

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/early-human-migrations

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary dispersal model?The 'Out of Africa' hypothesis, suggesting Homo sapiens originated in Africa
2. What is the estimated timeline of major dispersals?Beginning around 70,000 to 100,000 years ago
3. What does the 'Out of Africa' model say about where humans first lived?It says that modern humans first lived in Africa and then moved out to other parts of the world.
4. When did humans start leaving Africa?Scientists think the first migrations began about 70,000 to 100,000 years ago.

Homo sapiens: The species to which all modern humans belong.
Genetic drift: Random fluctuations in the frequency of gene variants in a population.
Founder effect: A form of genetic drift that occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA): DNA found in the mitochondria of cells, inherited from the mother, used to trace ancestry.