The northern dispersal of early modern humans in eastern Eurasia

Abstract

The study of the dispersal of modern humans beyond Africa is of great importance for assessing the adaptive capacities of Homo sapiens and for addressing why we are the only remaining hominin species on the planet today. Archaeological and genetic discussions of this process have tended to focus on the so-called “southern” route towards Arabia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia and associated coastal and terrestrial environments [1]. More recently, increasing archaeological attention has focused on potential northern routes of human dispersal through Central Asia, Siberia, and northern China in light of new discoveries and research in this part of the world [1], [2]. Technological advances and suitable preservation conditions at sites in northern Asia have increased our ability to successfully extract ancient DNA from human fossils and sediments, alongside new finds of archaeological materials, with increasingly secure dated associations in different regions. New opportunities therefore now exist to examine the northern dispersal route(s) of modern humans and their interactions with archaic hominins in northern Asia (Fig. 1a).