The human genome reveals the evolution of Homo sapiens

Abstract

The evolution of modern humans began two and a half million years ago as Homo erectus. Several hundred thousand years ago, Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern men Homo sapiens have been separated from the Homo erectus branch. Nevertheless, Homo sapiens is the only one that has survived to our days. The complex history of Homo is revealed by genetic research and comparison of the modern human genome with genes of Neanderthals and Denisovans. Svante Pääbo, a professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, made a significant contribution to these studies and decoded the genome of Neanderthals and Denisovans. Comparison of the genome of modern humans with the genes of Neanderthals and Denisovans
made it possible to reveal the size of the population, the paths and times of migrations, interactions of various groups of ancient humans and their biological crossing. It was found that in Eurasia, modern man carries traces of Neanderthal genes, whereas in Asia and Oceania – Denisovan genes. According to anthropological research, the survival of Homo sapiens was driven by the cognitive revolution, which took place about seventy thousand years ago and included the development of language, communication and association in large groups.