Tracing the peopling of the world through genomics

• Published in: Nature (London) Vol. 541; no. 7637; pp. 302 - 310
• Main Authors: Nielsen, Rasmus, Akey, Joshua M., Jakobsson, Mattias, Pritchard, Jonathan K., Tishkoff, Sarah, Willerslev, Eske
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19.01.2017; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/181; 631/208/212; Acclimatization - genetics; Africa - ethnology; Analysis; Animals; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA sequencing; Environmental conditions; Evolution, Molecular; Evolutionary biology; Genetic research; Genome, Human - genetics; Genomes; Genomics; Geography; History, Ancient; Hominids; Human Migration - history; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Methods; Mitochondrial DNA; multidisciplinary; Neanderthals - genetics; Phylogenetics; Population growth; review-article; Science; Selection, Genetic; Africa
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature21347

Advances in the sequencing and the analysis of the genomes of both modern and ancient peoples have facilitated a number of breakthroughs in our understanding of human evolutionary history. These include the discovery of interbreeding between anatomically modern humans and extinct hominins; the development of an increasingly detailed description of the complex dispersal of modern humans out of Africa and their population expansion worldwide; and the characterization of many of the genetic adaptions of humans to local environmental conditions. Our interpretation of the evolutionary history and adaptation of humans is being transformed by analyses of these new genomic data.