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Modern humans came from Botswana
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Our Homeland - Level 0
The origin of humans is in Botswana. Researchers said all our roots are in northern Botswana. Humans were there 200,000 years ago. They moved across Africa and into Europe and Asia. A professor said: "We've known for a long time that modern humans originated in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago."
Researchers said we come from an area called Okavango. They looked at DNA from people who live near there today. The people had a lot of DNA called L0. The professor said every time people moved, that event was recorded in our L0. It was a time-stamp. She said everyone walking around today is from this region.
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Our Homeland - Level 1
The origin of humans is in Botswana. Researchers used DNA to find out where we came from. They said all our roots are in northern Botswana. Humans were there 200,000 years ago. They lived there for 70,000 years and then moved across Africa. They then moved to Europe and Asia. Professor Vanessa Hayes, from the University of Sydney, said: "We've known for a long time that modern humans originated in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago."
The researchers said we come from an area called Okavango. People there had water, hunting and farmland. Scientists looked at DNA from 200 people who live near there today. The people had a lot of DNA called L0. Professor Hayes explained why L0 is important. She said: "Every time a new migration occurs, that migration event is recorded in our [L0 and] DNA as a time-stamp.... Everyone walking around today...comes from this region."
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Our Homeland - Level 2
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A study says the origin of humans is in Botswana. Researchers said they used DNA to find out where modern humans came from. They believe all our roots are in a region of northern Botswana. Humans were there 200,000 years ago. They lived there for at least 70,000 years and then moved around the African continent. They then started migrating to Europe and Asia. Researcher Professor Vanessa Hayes, from the University of Sydney, said: "We've known for a long time that modern humans originated in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago."
The researchers pinpointed an area called Okavango as where we come from. There used to be a big lake there but it is now salt flats. People had water, hunting and farmland. Scientists analyzed DNA from 200 people who live near the area today. They are from the Khoisan people, who live in modern-day South Africa and Namibia. They had a lot of DNA called L0. Professor Hayes explained why L0 is important. She said: "Every time a new migration occurs, that migration event is recorded in our [L0 and] DNA as a time-stamp.... Everyone walking around today...comes from this region."
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Our Homeland - Level 3
A new study claims that the origin of modern humans is in Botswana. The study is published in the journal 'Nature'. Researchers in the study said they used DNA to find out where modern humans came from. The researchers believe we all have roots in a region of northern Botswana, south of the Zambezi River. Humans were there 200,000 years ago. They lived there for at least 70,000 years before they moved around the African continent. They then started migrating to what is now Europe and Asia. Researcher Professor Vanessa Hayes, from the University of Sydney in Australia, said: "We've known for a long time that modern humans originated in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago."
The researchers pinpointed an area called Okavango as being the place we come from. There used to be a huge lake there but it is now salt flats. The people had access to water, hunting and farmland. Scientists analyzed DNA samples from 200 people who live near the area today. They are from the Khoisan people. The Khoisan now live in modern-day South Africa and Namibia. They had a lot of DNA called L0, which is the oldest form of DNA known to be inside humans. Professor Hayes explained why L0 is important. She said: "Every time a new migration occurs, that migration event is recorded in our [L0 and] DNA as a time-stamp.... Everyone walking around today...comes from this region."
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25 online activities | 27-page printable | 2-page mini-lesson
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