Human Population Expanded During Late Stone Age, Genetic Evidence Shows

align="center"> Cave painting reproduction. (Credit: iStockphoto/Jose Ramirez)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2009) — Genetic evidence is revealing that human populations began to expand in size in Africa during the Late Stone Age approximately 40,000 years ago. A research team led by Michael F. Hammer (Arizona Research Laboratory's Division of Biotechnology at the University of Arizona) found that sub-Saharan populations increased in size well before the development of agriculture. This research supports the hypothesis that population growth played a significant role in the evolution of human cultures in the Late Pleistocene.

The team's findings are published in the online peer reviewed journal PLoS ONE on July 29.

Read more ....