'First modern humans settled in Arabia' Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:45PM GMT A new study by a team of British and Portuguese researchers suggests that first modern humans settled in Arabia on their way from the Horn of Africa.
Genetic analyses conducted at the University of Leeds and the University of Porto revealed the earliest stages of modern human migration from Africa to the rest of the world.
"One popular model predicts that the early stages of the dispersal took place across the Red Sea to southern Arabia, but direct genetic evidence has been thin on the ground," explained Dr. Luisa Pereira of the Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP).
The team studied three of the earliest non-African maternal lineages.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis, which clarifies relatedness between different populations, provided evidence for an ancient ancestry within Arabia.
"The timing and pattern of the migration of early modern humans has been a source of much debate and research,” said Professor Martin Richards of the University of Leeds.
The new results suggest that Arabia, rather than North Africa or the Near East, was the first staging-post in the spread of modern humans around the world, Richards added.
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