C
Until recently, several lines of evidence—from fossils, genetics, and archaeology—suggested that humans first moved from Africa into Eurasia (the land of Europe and Asia) about 60,000 years ago, quickly replacing other early human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, that they may have met along the way.
However a series of recent discoveries, including 100,000-year-old human teeth found in a cave in China, have clouded this straightforward statement. And the latest find, a prehistoric jawbone at the Misliya Cave in Israel dating back to nearly 200,000 years ago, which is almost twice as old as any Homo sapiens(智人) remains discovered outside Africa, where our species was thought to have originated from, has added a new and unexpected twist.
The find suggests that there were multiple waves of migration across Europe and Asia and could also mean that modern humans in the Middle East were interacting, and possibly mating, with other human species for tens of thousands of years. “Misliya breaks the mould (模式) of existing assumptions of the timing of the first known Homo sapiens in these regions,” said Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. “It’s important in removing a long-lasting constraint(限制) on our thinking.”
Prof. Hershkovitz, who led the work at Tel Aviv University said, “What Misliya tells us is that modern humans left Africa not 100,000 years ago, but 200,000 years ago. This is a revolution in the way we understand the evolution of our own species.” He also added that the record now indicates that humans probably travelled beyond the African continent whenever the climate allowed it. “I don’t believe there was one big departure from Africa,” he said. “I think that throughout hundreds of thousands of years humans were coming in and out of Africa all the time.”
The discovery means that modern humans were potentially meeting and interacting during a longer period with other ancient human groups, providing more opportunity for cultural and biological exchanges. It also raises interesting questions about the fate of the earliest modern human pioneers. Genetic data from modern-day populations around the world strongly suggest that everyone outside Africa can trace their ancestors back to a group that left around 60,000 years ago. So the inhabitants of the Misliya Cave are probably not the ancestors of anyone alive today, and scientists can only guess why their branch of the family tree came to an end.
28. What does the Misliya discovery suggest?
A. Our ancestors were powerful and kind of agreesive.
B. Our ancestors left Africa much earlier than thought.
C. The origins of modern humans are from Europe.
D. Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans once lived together.
29. What does the underlined word “they” refer to in Para. One?
A. Early human species living in Europe
B. Neanderthals and Denisovans.
C. People first moving from Africa into Eurasia.
D. Ancient people living in Africa all the time.
30. What can be learned from Prof. Hershkovitz’s words in Para. 4?
A. Climate was a big factor in human migration from Africa.
B. There was a large-scale human migration from Africa.
C. Human migration was occasional in Africa 200,000 years ago.
D. The Misliya find is against our understanding of human evolution.
31. What can we infer about those living in Misliya 200,000 years ago according to the last paragraph?
A. They were ancestors of people living in China.
B. They left evidence for their mysterious disappearance in history.
C. They probably contributed little to present-day people genetically.
D. They could be traced by their remains left on their travelling route.
【答案】28. B 29. C 30. A 31. C
Until recently, several lines of evidence—from fossils, genetics, and archaeology—suggested that humans first moved from Africa into Eurasia (the land of Europe and Asia) about 60,000 years ago, quickly replacing other early human species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, that they may have met along the way.
However a series of recent discoveries, including 100,000-year-old human teeth found in a cave in China, have clouded this straightforward statement. And the latest find, a prehistoric jawbone at the Misliya Cave in Israel dating back to nearly 200,000 years ago, which is almost twice as old as any Homo sapiens(智人) remains discovered outside Africa, where our species was thought to have originated from, has added a new and unexpected twist.
The find suggests that there were multiple waves of migration across Europe and Asia and could also mean that modern humans in the Middle East were interacting, and possibly mating, with other human species for tens of thousands of years. “Misliya breaks the mould (模式) of existing assumptions of the timing of the first known Homo sapiens in these regions,” said Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London. “It’s important in removing a long-lasting constraint(限制) on our thinking.”
Prof. Hershkovitz, who led the work at Tel Aviv University said, “What Misliya tells us is that modern humans left Africa not 100,000 years ago, but 200,000 years ago. This is a revolution in the way we understand the evolution of our own species.” He also added that the record now indicates that humans probably travelled beyond the African continent whenever the climate allowed it. “I don’t believe there was one big departure from Africa,” he said. “I think that throughout hundreds of thousands of years humans were coming in and out of Africa all the time.”
The discovery means that modern humans were potentially meeting and interacting during a longer period with other ancient human groups, providing more opportunity for cultural and biological exchanges. It also raises interesting questions about the fate of the earliest modern human pioneers. Genetic data from modern-day populations around the world strongly suggest that everyone outside Africa can trace their ancestors back to a group that left around 60,000 years ago. So the inhabitants of the Misliya Cave are probably not the ancestors of anyone alive today, and scientists can only guess why their branch of the family tree came to an end.
28. What does the Misliya discovery suggest?
A. Our ancestors were powerful and kind of agreesive.
B. Our ancestors left Africa much earlier than thought.
C. The origins of modern humans are from Europe.
D. Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans once lived together.
29. What does the underlined word “they” refer to in Para. One?
A. Early human species living in Europe
B. Neanderthals and Denisovans.
C. People first moving from Africa into Eurasia.
D. Ancient people living in Africa all the time.
30. What can be learned from Prof. Hershkovitz’s words in Para. 4?
A. Climate was a big factor in human migration from Africa.
B. There was a large-scale human migration from Africa.
C. Human migration was occasional in Africa 200,000 years ago.
D. The Misliya find is against our understanding of human evolution.
31. What can we infer about those living in Misliya 200,000 years ago according to the last paragraph?
A. They were ancestors of people living in China.
B. They left evidence for their mysterious disappearance in history.
C. They probably contributed little to present-day people genetically.
D. They could be traced by their remains left on their travelling route.
【答案】28. B 29. C 30. A 31. C
