Parallel: Early humans emigrated to Africa rather than evolving there

Scientists have long assumed that modern humans evolved in Africa and spread from there throughout the Eastern Hemisphere. The scientists have believed this, because the earliest fossils of early humans were discovered in Africa. However, recent scientific research indicates this assumption may not be accurate. Specifically, one report indicates the anthropoids that lived anciently in Africa may have been migrants to the area rather than being native to the area. Another report suggests that early humans may have colonized Africa instead of evolving there.

Traditional Mormon belief is that Adam lived in the general Missouri area of the US. I am listing this as a parallel, not to suggest that Mormons believe anthropoids and early humans emigrated to Africa from the US, but because of the parallelism that civilization as we know it did not originate in Africa.

I have never felt that the fossil record supported the theory that modern civilization began in Africa. The fact that the oldest fossils of ancient humans were found in Africa only shows that the oldest fossils known so far have been found there. The fossil record does not show that ancient humans originated there.

The fossil record of ancient humans goes back hundreds of thousands of years, while the Biblical record of humans only goes back about 4000 years. Latter-day Saints, who take a traditional or literal view of the Biblical scriptures, have never given a satisfactory explanation of the difference in time between their view and the view of scientists. For this reason (and other reasons) many (perhaps most) scientists do not give much credence to the view of mankind that results from a literal interpretation of the Biblical record. Latter-day Saints who take a broader view of the time-line of mankind, have a belief that is closer to the scientific view. In my essay, Reconciling the Fall of Adam and Evolution, I give my view that Adam was not the first mortal man on the earth but was the first to receive the gospel and to make covenants with God. I don't discuss the geographical domain of Adam and leave that as an open question.

Was Israel the Birthplace of Modern Humans?

ScienceDaily for December 31, 2010 reported on the possible birthplace of modern humans.

It has long been believed that modern humans emerged from the continent of Africa 200,000 years ago. Now Tel Aviv University archaeologists have uncovered evidence that Homo sapiens roamed the land now called Israel as early as 400,000 years ago -- the earliest evidence for the existence of modern humans anywhere in the world.

Into Africa? Fossils Suggest Earliest Anthropoids Colonized Africa

ScienceDaily for October 28, 2010 reported on fossil evidence for anthropoids colonizing Africa.

A new discovery described by a team of international scientists, including Carnegie Museum of Natural History paleontologist Christopher Beard, suggests that anthropoids -- the primate group that includes humans, apes, and monkeys -- "colonized" Africa, rather than originally evolving in Africa as has been widely accepted. According to the paper published in the journal Nature, what is exceptional about these new fossils -- discovered at the Dur At-Talah escarpment in central Libya -- is the diversity of species present: the site includes three distinct families of anthropoid primates that lived in North Africa at approximately the same time.