Darwin descended from Cro-Magnon man
jd in .hu
Thu Feb 4, 12:00 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100204/sc_afp/australiascienceevolutionpopulationdarwin_20100204170938
SYDNEY (AFP) – The father of evolution Charles Darwin was a direct
descendant of the Cro-Magnon people, whose entry into Europe 30,000
years ago heralded the demise of Neanderthals, scientists revealed in
Australia Thursday.
Darwin, who hypothesised that all humans evolved from common ancestors
in his seminal 1859 work "On the Origin of Species", came from
Haplogroup R1b, one of the most common European male lineages, said
genealogist Spencer Wells.
"Men belonging to Haplogroup R1b are direct descendants of the Cro-
Magnon people who, beginning 30,000 years ago, dominated the human
expansion into Europe and heralded the demise of the Neanderthal
species," Wells said.
Director of the Genographic Project, an international study mapping
the migratory history of the human species, Wells said they took a DNA
sample from Darwin's great-great grandson Chris Darwin, 48, who lives
on the outskirts of Sydney.
A trace of Darwin's "deep ancestry" showed his forefathers left Africa
around 45,000 years ago, splitting into a new lineage 5,000 years
later in Iran or southern Central Asia, Wells said.
"Before heading west towards Europe, the next mutation, which defined
a new lineage, appeared in a man around 35,000 years ago,' he said.
"Approximately 70 percent of men in southern England belong to
Haplogroup R1b, and in parts of Ireland and Spain that number exceeds
90 percent", he added.
Chris Darwin, whose great-grandfather was Darwin's astronomer son
George, is a tour guide and adventurer in the Blue Mountains west of
Sydney.
He migrated to Australia in 1986 and tests of his maternal DNA showed
he was likely directly descended from the women who crossed the rugged
Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia to reach the steppes of the
Black Sea.
"The Genographic Project is incredibly important," Darwin said.
"The project is one way to show us the true story of humanity, of how
we migrated across the world and that we are all related, tracing back
to a small group of men and women who lived in Africa".
Wells was presenting the findings ahead of the project's annual
scientific conference, bringing together representatives from 11
regional teams to discuss their work in Sydney.
There are currently 265,000 members of the public taking part in the
project, which is an initiative of National Geographic, IBM and the
California-based Waitt Family Foundation charity.
Participation kits can be bought online for 100 US dollars, and
proceeds go towards the research and to indigenous language and
cultural projects.