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  • Perspective
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The success of failed Homo sapiens dispersals out of Africa and into Asia

Abstract

The evidence for an early dispersal of Homo sapiens from Africa into the Levant during Marine Isotope Stage 5 (MIS-5) 126–74 ka (thousand years ago) was characterized for many years as an ‘abortive’ expansion: a precursor to a sustained dispersal from which all extant human populations can be traced. Recent archaeological and genetic data from both western and eastern parts of Eurasia and from Australia are starting to challenge that interpretation. This Perspective reviews the current evidence for a scenario where the MIS-5 dispersal encompassed a much greater geographic distribution and temporal duration. The implications of this for tracking and understanding early human dispersal in Southeast Asia specifically are considered, and the validity of measuring dispersal success only through genetic continuity into the present is examined.

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Fig. 1: Map showing the location of sites discussed in the text.
Fig. 2: Excavations at Hang Thung Binh 1, Tràng An, Ninh Binh province, Vietnam.
Fig. 3: The West Mouth of the Niah Caves.

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Acknowledgements

This paper includes research undertaken while the author was funded by the GCRF (AHRC) AH/N005902/1 and Xuan Truong Enterprise. I thank colleagues who read earlier drafts or advised on the content of this paper: particularly, R. Foley, P. Nigst, P. Piper, E. Hill, C. Hunt, T. Kahlert and S. O’Donnell.

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Rabett, R.J. The success of failed Homo sapiens dispersals out of Africa and into Asia. Nat Ecol Evol 2, 212–219 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0436-8

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