Malaria shaped prehistoric human migrations in sub-Saharan Africa for over 70,000 years
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 29
Malaria shaped prehistoric human migrations in sub-Saharan Africa for over 70,000 years
13 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 29
Published in Science Advances on 22 April, the study reconstructed 74,000 years of climate and mosquito habitat data and identified Central West Africa as especially affected.
Researchers found hunter-gatherers avoided endemic malaria zones long before farming arrived between 3000 and 1000 BC, with disease helping shape population structures by at least 13,000 years ago.
The work challenges assumptions that migration was driven mainly by agriculture or climate and offers a method to investigate other ancient vector-borne diseases despite scarce ancient DNA evidence.
Beyond food or climate, was an ancient parasite the true architect of human history in Africa?
As malaria zones expand, will humans repeat the great migrations of our prehistoric ancestors?