𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗴, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗛
An international consortium of scientists has unveiled the most extensive human family tree ever created — a monumental achievement that traces the genetic threads connecting more than 3,600 individuals from 215 populations across the globe, both ancient and modern.
Published in the journal Science, this groundbreaking study not only maps out an astounding 27 million ancestral lineages, but also suggests a geographic starting point for our species in a region of modern-day Sudan, pushing back the timeline of our deepest ancestors to nearly one million years ago.
Led by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Big Data Institute, the ambitious project offers a breathtakingly detailed view of how humans worldwide are genetically related. By developing sophisticated computational methods to combine genomic data from eight different databases, the team has, in essence, constructed a unified genealogy for all of humanity.
“We have basically built a huge family tree, a genealogy for all of humanity that models as exactly as we can the history that generated all the genetic variation we find in humans today,” explained Dr. Yan Wong, an evolutionary geneticist at the Big Data Institute and one of the principal authors of the study. “This genealogy allows us to see how every person’s genetic sequence relates to every other, along all the points of the genome.”
The team’s novel approach involved creating a “tree sequence” — a powerful new way to represent genetic relationships. This method can accommodate vast amounts of data and, for the first time, seamlessly integrate genomes from vastly different time periods — from a few thousand to over 100,000 years old. By analyzing both modern and ancient DNA, the researchers were able to build a comprehensive picture of human migration, intermingling, and evolution.
A Deeper African Origin
One of the study’s most striking findings is the proposed geographic location of our earliest ancestors. By extrapolating back through the immense network of genetic relationships, the researchers’ algorithms pinpointed a location in what is now Sudan as a potential cradle of humanity. The analysis suggests these ancestors lived up to — and possibly over — one million years ago.
This estimate significantly predates the widely accepted age of our species, Homo sapiens, believed to have emerged between 250,000 and 300,000 years ago. According to Will Dunham of Reuters, this discrepancy is explained by the fact that our genomes contain segments inherited from archaic human species that were not modern humans. This new, more profound timeline offers a richer, more complex story of our origins, reinforcing the theory that modern humans originated in Africa before embarking on their global migration.
New Light on Ancient Crossroads in Southeast Asia
The study’s inclusion of genetic data from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia offers a powerful new lens for examining some of Southeast Asia’s most intriguing archaeological discoveries. The region — and the Philippines in particular — has a complex history of human occupation, with evidence of multiple archaic human species and early modern human activity.
This new, unified genealogy may help contextualize enigmatic finds such as:
• The 709,000-year-old butchered rhinoceros remains in Northern Luzon — the oldest known evidence of hominin activity in the Philippines, though the identity of these early tool-wielders remains unknown.
• Homo luzonensis — the fossilized remains of this distinct, small-bodied human species, discovered in Callao Cave, Cagayan, dated between 50,000 and 67,000 years ago, suggesting they may have coexisted with the first modern humans in the archipelago.
• Tabon Man — unearthed in Palawan, these remains were once considered the earliest evidence of modern humans in the Philippines and now form part of a growing and increasingly complex fossil record.
While the study does not definitively identify the ancient inhabitants of the Philippines, it provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how they might relate to other human populations. By placing both ancient and modern genomes from the region into a global context, researchers can better trace the migrations and admixtures that have shaped Southeast Asia’s genetic landscape. The new family tree will be an invaluable tool for testing theories about how and when early and modern humans arrived in the Philippine archipelago and the broader region.
A Foundation for Future Discovery
Dr. Wong and his colleagues see this monumental work as a foundational resource that will evolve as genome sequencing technology continues to advance. As more high-quality ancient and modern genomes are added to the tree, its accuracy and detail will only improve.
“As the quality of genome sequences from modern and ancient DNA samples improves, the trees will become even more accurate,” stated Dr. Wong. The ultimate goal is to generate “a single, unified map that explains the descent of all the human genetic variation we see today.”
This unprecedented family tree not only brings us closer to understanding our shared human history but also holds significant promise for medical research, offering new ways to identify genetic predispositions to diseases. For now, it stands as a testament to the power of big data and collaborative science, inching humanity ever closer to answering one of our most enduring questions: “Where did we all come from?”
