Sun City, South Africa July 8, 1998

More than 700 delegates from 75 countries concluded a unique interdisciplinary conference this weekend at Sun City in the former South African bantustan of Bophuthatswana: a "dual congress" held by the International Association for the Study of Human Paleontology and the International Association of Human Biologists.

For a week some of the world's top scientists argued about the accuracy of dating methods, the prehensile tendencies of "Little Foot," whose remains are the latest contender for "missing link" status and the claim to respectability of the "aquatic ape theory", which offers, among other things, an explanation ' of mankind's tendency to baldness and preference for the missionary position.

There was a "race questionnaire" issued to delegates. It posed the single question: whether there are "biological races within the species Homo sapiens."

The answer turns on a related issue which has long taxed paleontological circles but is, with the help of biologists, in the process of being decided: the relative claims of what are known as the "Out of Africa" theory and "multi-regionalism." The names are misleading, because most mainstream scientists now accept that mankind originated in Africa five million years ago.

The argument turns more on which boatload of emigrants played Mayflower to the rest of the world: Homo erectus, who seemingly left African shores 1.5 million years ago, or Homo sapiens, who is held to have gone forth to conquer a mere 150,000 years ago, exterminating the remnants of erectus.

At the heart of the argument lies the question whether the racial characteristics of present-day man -- notably skin color -- are the product of comparatively recent, and therefore superficial, adaptations to environment or represent a far longer and possibly more significant process of evolution.

The Out of Africa hypothesis meant Homo sapiens would have had to wipe out all the other hominid populations in the world -- such as the Neanderthals. "Hitler didn't manage that, so how does a bunch of guys with a few spears and rocks?" Thorne asked.

Biological differences between population groups were enormous, he insisted, and could not be accounted for by the time-spans offered by the Out of Africa theorists. But Thorne's position is becoming increasingly difficult to defend. "The Out of Africa" model has substantially more support in the paleontological community now because of the data," said Tim White from the University of California, who discovered Ardepithecus ramidus, the earliest hominid remains on record, dating back 4.4 million years.

"The earliest anatomically modern people are indeed African and Middle Eastern and date to little more than 100,000 years ago," White said. "The earliest people in Australia may be as old as 40,000-50,000 years."

Chris Stringer, principal researcher into human origins at London's Natural History Museum backed him. "A million years ago there were people living in Europe, in Asia and in the Far East, but there was only one place which has a continuous line of evolution from those ancient people through to modern people, and that is Africa."

The Neanderthals and their counterparts in China and Java had become extinct and, at most, "their contribution to our ancestry is very low," Stringer said. So-called racial features had evolved "very recently" in Europe, probably 20,000 years ago. There was growing support for this theory from genetics, Stringer said. One of the world's leading geneticists, Sir Walter Bodmer, principal of Hertford College of Oxford University and former director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, backed them, pointing out that gene frequency analysis supported the Out of Africahypothesis.

"All the evidence suggests that about150,000 years ago there was a later migration out of Africa of a species that was very close to what we are, if not the same as Homo sapiens. It's the descendants of those that formed the different population groups in different parts of the world," he said.

"Most of the genetic variation in human populations is found within any population, and a minority of it relates to difference between them. You can take a population of 1,000 individuals from anywhere and they will have as much variation, almost, as a population of 1,000 sampled from all over the world. The differences between populations is far less than the differences within them."

By David Beresford-- The Guardian.

Agence France-Presse --Vatican City--February 24, 1998

The first man and woman lived up to 200,000 years ago in an earthly paradise somewhere in southern or southeastern Africa, according to the Jesuit Father Angelo Serra, professor of genetics at Rome's Catholic university.

Serra made the claim during a speech on the origins of man delivered to the general assembly of the pontifical academy on life in the Vatican.

The priest said his view was widely held as a result of research carried out in 1996 by academics in California and Arizona.

Serra argued that this research supported the monogenist theory that there was only one "Adam" and one "Eve."

He said the research had allowed the genetic origin of a single Eve to be discovered through DNA analysis of mitochondrions (cell structures containing enzymes for respiration and energy production) which are passed on through the female line.

Research carried out last year allowed the genetic origin of a single Adam to be identified through analysis of Y chromosone DNA, he said.

"Eden, or earthly paradise, where man, with the biological structure of modern man, appeared for the first time some 100,000 or 200,000 years ago, would have been in the region of south or southeastern Africa," Serra said. "From these regions, modern man would have developed towards Asia and Europe, where the ancestors of those alive today would have emerged between 30,000 and 50,000 years ago," he added.

Polygenists, even those of them who are Roman Catholics, believe that the Adam and Eve of the Bible were only symbolic and that those alive today descend from several "Adams" and several "Eves."

The Boshongo are a Bantu tribe of Central Africa. In the beginning there was only darkness, water, and the great god Bumba. One day Bumba, in pain from a stomach ache, vomited up the sun. The sun dried up some of the water, leaving land. Still in pain, Bumba vomited up the moon, the stars, and then some animals: the leopard, the crocodile, the turtle, and, finally, some men, one of whom, Yoko Lima was white like Bumba.

The Efik are a Nigerian tribe. The creator, Abassi, created two humans and then decided to not allow them to live on earth. His wife, Atai, persuaded him to let them do so. In order to control the humans, Abassi insisted that they eat all their meals with him, thereby keeping them from growing or hunting food. He also forbade them to procreate. Soon, though, the woman began growing food in the earth, and they stopped showing up to eat with Abassi. Then the man joined his wife in the fields, and before long there were children also. Abassi blamed his wife for the way things had turned out, but she told him she would handle it. She sent to earth death and discord to keep the people in their place.

The Ekoi are a tribe in southern Nigeria. In the beginning there were two gods, Obassi Osaw and Obassi Nsi. The two gods created everything together. Then Obassi Osaw decided to live in the sky and Obassi Nsi decided to live on the earth. The god in the sky gives light and moisture, but also brings drought and storms. The god of the earth nurtures, and takes the people back to him when they die. One day long ago Obassi Osaw made a man and a woman, and placed them upon the earth. They knew nothing so Obassi Nsi taught them about planting and hunting to get food.

Wak was the creator god who lived in the clouds. He kept the vault of the heavens at a distance from the earth and covered it with stars. He was a benefactor and did not punish. When the earth was flat Wak asked man to make his own coffin, and when man did this Wak shut him up in it and pushed it into the ground. For seven years he made fire rain down and the mountains were formed. Then Wak unearthed the coffin and man sprang forth, alive. Man tired of living alone, so Wak took some of his blood, and after four days, the blood became a woman whom the man married. They had 30 children, but the man was ashamed of having so many so he hid 15 of them. Wak then made those hidden children into animals and demons.

The Fans are a Bantu tribe in Africa. In the beginning there was nothing but Nzame. This god is really three: Nzame, Mebere, and Nkwa. It was the Nzame part of the god that created the universe and the earth, and brought life to it. Whle the three parts of Nzame were admiring this creation, it was decided to create a ruler for the earth. So was created the elephant, the leopard, and the monkey, but it was decided that something better had to be created. Between the three of them they made a new creature in their image, and called him Fam (power), and told him to rule the earth. Before long, Fam grew arrogant, he mistreated the animals and stopped worshipping Nzame. Nzame, angered, brought forth thunder and lightning and destroyed everything that was, except Fam, who had been promised immortality. Nzame, in his three aspects, decided to renew the earth and try again. He applied a new layer of earth to the planet, and a tree grew upon it. The tree dropped seeds which grew into more trees. Leaves that dropped from them into the water became fish, those that dropped on land became animals. The old parched earth still lies below this new one, and if one digs deep enough it can be found in the form of coal. Nzame made a new man, one who would know death, and called him Sekume. Sekume fashioned a woman, Mbongwe, from a tree. These people were made with both Gnoul (body) and Nissim (soul). Nissim gives life to Gnoul. When Gnoul dies, Nissim lives on. They produced many children and prospered.

A Rhodesian peoples Maori created the first man, Mwuetsi, who became the moon. Maori gave him a ngona horn filled with ngona oil and told him he would live at the bottom of the waters. Mwuetsi objected and said he wished to live on the land. Maori reluctantly agreed, but said Mwuetsi would give up immortality if he did. After a while Mwuetsi complained of loneliness, so Maori sent him a woman, Massassi (the morning star), to keep him company for two years. Each night they slept on opposite sides of a campfire, until one night Mwuetsi jumped over the flame and touched Massassi with a finger he had moistened with the ngona oil. In the moning Massassi was huge, and soon gave birth to plants and trees until the whole earth was covered by them. At the end of two years Maori took Massassi away. Mwuetsi wept for eight years, at which time Maori sent him another woman, Morongo (the evening star), saying that she could stay for two years. On the first night Mwuetsi touched her with his oiled finger, but she said she was different than Massassi, and that they would have to oil their loins and have intercourse. This they did, this night, and every night thereafter. Every morning Morongo gave birth to the animals of creation. Then she gave birth to human boys and girls, who became full-grown by that very same evening. Maori voiced his disleasure with a fierce storm, and told Mwuetsi he was hastening his death with all this procreation. Morongo, ever the temptress, instructed Mwuetsi to build a door to their habitat so that Maori could not see what they were doing. He did this, and again they slept together. Now in the morning Morongo gave birth to violent animals; snakes, scorpions, lions, etc. One night Morongo told Mwuetsi to have intercourse with his daughters, which he did, thereby fathering the human race.

Modimo was the creator. He distributed good things, appeared in the east and belonged to the element water. At the same time he was a destroyer, a terrifying creature responsible for drought, hail, cyclones and earthquakes. When these things happened he appeared in the west and was part of the element fire. Modimo was also sky and light, earth and root. He was unique and singular. He had no ancestors, no past or future. He pervaded the whole of creation. His name was taboo and could be spoken only by priests and seers.

The Ancient One, known as Unkulunkulu, is the Zulu creator. He came from the reeds (uthlanga, means source) and from them he brought forth the people and the cattle. He created everything that is: mountains,streams, snakes, etc. He taught the Zulu how to hunt, how to make fire, and how to grow food. He is considered to be the First Man and is in everything that he created.

 







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