Darwin y la Antropología Evolutiva - Ask An Anthropologist |
En El origen del hombre, Darwin argumentó que la evolución de la bipedestación (caminar erguido usando solo las piernas) liberó a los humanos del uso de las ...
más información
Si bien algunas de las ideas de Darwin sobre la evolución de las características humanas no estaban respaldadas por evidencia concreta del registro fósil, sus argumentos fundamentales siguen siendo válidos. Darwin pensó que los humanos y los simios compartían un ancestro común en el pasado geológico. Dado que los grandes simios africanos son muy similares a los humanos, Darwin predijo, correctamente, que nuestros antepasados evolucionaron primero en África. Ahora no solo sabemos que nuestros primeros ancestros evolucionaron en África, sino también que ese es el caso de nuestra propia especie, Homo sapiens. Esto fue establecido por estudios genéticos mucho después de la muerte de Darwin ( <anchor>más información</anchor>), y está confirmado por recientes descubrimientos arqueológicos y de fósiles.
Your ancestors' DNA | Ask An Anthropologist
Your ancestors' DNA \| Ask An Anthropologist

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## show/hide words to know

**Admixed population:** a group of individuals that have mixed ancestry.

**Ancestry:** a person’s origin or background; family or ethnic descent.

**Migration:** movement of animals from one region to another.

## The history written in your genome

Do you know where your family comes from? Maybe they migrated from another country. Perhaps they belonged to a native tribe that lived in the Americas. Or maybe they are originally from Africa, Asia, or one of the Pacific islands. Everyone has their own unique ancestry, but what if you don’t know where your family lineage began? Your DNA can help solve this mystery.

DNA is passed down from parent to offspring. Thus, your DNA tells the story of who is in your family and where they came from. You share genetic similarities with your parents, your grandparents, your great-grandparents, and so on. This shared genetic history can be used to figure out which parts of the world your family came from.

![Depiction of the peopling of the world. Migratory paths are based on only the Y chromosome, not the whole genome. It shows that humans originated in Africa, then colonized Europe and Asia, and lastly moved into the Americas, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.](/sites/default/files/assets/stories/Because_Your_DNA_Says_So/world_map_of_y-dna_haplogroups_540w.jpg)Looking at the DNA of many living people can give us more details. It reveals the history of all humans – where humans evolved and how they moved across the world. Current evidence shows that humans evolved in Africa. They then migrated out into the rest of the world. First populations migrated into the Middle East and then into Europe and Asia. Later, people in Asia migrated into the South East Asian islands, Australia, and the Americas. Finally, the Pacific Islands were one of the last areas of the world populated by people. Since this original spread of humans across the world, we have continued to move to different places. This has resulted in many admixed populations.

All of this human history is written in the genomes of people alive today. You have some of this history too. The history of your specific family lineage is written in your DNA.

### Read more about [Because Your DNA Says So](/stories/because-your-dna-says-so)

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## [footprint-in-sand.png](/files/footprint-sandpng)

![](https://askananthropologist.asu.edu/sites/default/files/styles/panopoly_image_full/public/top-questions/footprint-in-sand.png?itok=k5wvu2p9)

When did human ancestors begin walking on two legs and how do we know? [Answer »](/top-questions/when-did-human-ancestors-begin-walking-two-legs-and-how-do-we-know)

## [Because Your DNA Says So](/stories/because-your-dna-says-so)

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