A 1988 Newsweek magazine offered this depiction of "Adam and Eve" which reflects humankind's evolution in central Africa. This representation probably bears a little more resemblance to a typical modern African than the lady who is the topic of this blog, the real Mitochondrial Eve. In reality, she probably stood around 5 feet tall with a medium brown complexion, course dark reddish- brown hair and dark eyes.
As humans multiplied, populations began to fragment and venture out. Some groups remained in Africa as others crossed into the Middle East and beyond. Populations became isolated as they began to fill different biological niches and this geographic isolation permitted cultural changes. Simultaneously, natural selection was at work creating physical changes to better enable populations to cope with their new environments. The result after a few million years is a myriad of diverse populations worldwide.
Today, we live in a "global community". Modern transportation, international trade and military activity are just a few of the factors that bring these previously isolated communities into more frequent contact. The result over time will likely be a return to less diversity in the appearance of the population although that may require several thousand years. After all, we didn't achieve this level of diversify overnight. Humans also seem to have a nasty, innate need toward feeling that their group is superior so I suspect racism will probably die hard. I hope we continue to evolve until that is no longer the case!
The photos below represent just a small sample of the diversity in today's world.
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| Zulu warriors of South Africa (S. E. Africa) |
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| Igbo or Ibo people of Nigeria (W. central Africa) |
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| Inuit people of northern Canada |
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| Japanese family from the Asian island of Japan |
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| Nordic people of Scandinavia |
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| Inca people of Peru |
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