The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal

Leonardo Vallini (), Carlo Zampieri, Mohamed Javad Shoaee, Eugenio Bortolini, Giulia Marciani, Serena Aneli, Telmo Pievani, Stefano Benazzi, Alberto Barausse, Massimo Mezzavilla, Michael D. Petraglia and Luca Pagani ()
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Leonardo Vallini: University of Padova
Carlo Zampieri: University of Padova
Mohamed Javad Shoaee: Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology
Eugenio Bortolini: University of Bologna
Giulia Marciani: University of Bologna
Serena Aneli: University of Turin
Telmo Pievani: University of Padova
Stefano Benazzi: University of Bologna
Alberto Barausse: University of Padova
Massimo Mezzavilla: University of Padova
Michael D. Petraglia: Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution
Luca Pagani: University of Padova

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract A combination of evidence, based on genetic, fossil and archaeological findings, indicates that Homo sapiens spread out of Africa between ~70-60 thousand years ago (kya). However, it appears that once outside of Africa, human populations did not expand across all of Eurasia until ~45 kya. The geographic whereabouts of these early settlers in the timeframe between ~70-60 to 45 kya has been difficult to reconcile. Here we combine genetic evidence and palaeoecological models to infer the geographic location that acted as the Hub for our species during the early phases of colonisation of Eurasia. Leveraging on available genomic evidence we show that populations from the Persian Plateau carry an ancestry component that closely matches the population that settled the Hub outside Africa. With the paleoclimatic data available to date, we built ecological models showing that the Persian Plateau was suitable for human occupation and that it could sustain a larger population compared to other West Asian regions, strengthening this claim.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46161-7

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