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Molecular evolution and modern human origins
Author(s) -
Mountain Joanna L.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
evolutionary anthropology: issues, news, and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1520-6505
pISSN - 1060-1538
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6505(1997)6:4<21::aid-evan4>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - evolutionism , extant taxon , genetic data , population , mechanism (biology) , natural selection , interpretation (philosophy) , evolutionary biology , mutation rate , genealogy , demographic history , molecular evolution , selection (genetic algorithm) , biology , epistemology , history , sociology , genetics , computer science , genetic variation , phylogenetics , philosophy , gene , demography , artificial intelligence , programming language
While molecular evolutionists may be fascinated by the features and history of a particular gene or DNA segment, evolutionary anthropologists are often more interested in the activities and history of groups of people. We may want to know, for instance, when and where humans have migrated, how much exchange between groups has taken place, and how population sizes have changed. Population genetic theory provides the hope that through analyses of genetic data we will gain insight into the history of populations. Genetic data from extant human populations are now accruing at a remarkable rate. We might, therefore, expect to have answers in hand. There remains, however, a wide gap between the available theory and data; too often we fail to draw firm conclusions because our interpretation of analytic results requires that we make myriad assumptions about our data. In any one instance, these assumptions might include estimates of mutation rate, mutational mechanism, population sizes, the role that natural selection has played, and the rate of migration among groups. Often these assumptions are implicit, invisible to most. How, then, are we to make any progress? © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.