Ancient malaria steered where Africa's early humans settled, study finds
TL;DR
A Science Advances study reconstructing 74,000 years of sub-Saharan Africa climate finds prehistoric hunter-gatherers avoided malaria hotspots, especially Central West Africa, long before farming, suggesting malaria shaped where early humans lived and moved.
- 'We can no longer ignore diseases in the deep human past': Malaria influenced early humans' migrations across Africa, study suggests Live Science
- For 74,000 years, one ancient killer quietly dictated where early humans could survive across Africa Phys.org
- How mosquitoes — and malaria — helped shape the whereabouts of early humankind NPR
- Malaria shaped the distribution of early humans across Africa University of Cambridge
- News - How Has Malaria Shaped Human Populations? Archaeology Magazine
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