Editing Human evolution (section)

=== Evidence from genetics ===
{{Main|Human evolutionary genetics|Human genetic variation}}
[[File:Hominidae chart.svg|upright=1.5|thumb|Family tree showing the [[Extant taxon|extant]] hominoids: humans (genus ''[[Homo]]''), [[chimpanzee]]s and bonobos (genus ''[[Pan (genus)|Pan]]''), [[gorilla]]s (genus ''Gorilla''), [[orangutan]]s (genus ''[[Pongo (genus)|Pongo]]''), and gibbons (four genera of the family [[Hylobatidae]]: ''[[Hylobates]]'', ''[[Hoolock]]'', ''[[Nomascus]]'', and ''[[Symphalangus]]''). All except gibbons are hominids.]]

The closest living relatives of humans are bonobos and chimpanzees (both genus ''Pan'') and gorillas (genus ''Gorilla'').<ref name="Wood">{{cite journal |last1=Wood |first1=Bernard A. |last2=Richmond |first2=Brian G. |date=July 2000 |title=Human evolution: Taxonomy and paleobiology |journal=Journal of Anatomy |volume=197 |issue=1 |pages=19–60 |doi=10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710019.x |issn=1469-7580 |pmid=10999270 |pmc=1468107}}</ref> With the sequencing of both the human and chimpanzee genome, {{as of|2012|lc=y}} estimates of the similarity between their DNA sequences range between 95% and 99%.<ref name="Wood" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ajit |first1=Varki |author1-link=Ajit Varki |last2=Nelson |first2=David L. |date=October 2007 |title=Genomic Comparisons of Humans and Chimpanzees |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=36 |pages=191–209 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.36.081406.094339 |issn=0084-6570 |url= http://www.chd.ucsd.edu/_files/fall2008/Varki.2007.ARA.pdf |access-date=April 26, 2015 |quote=Sequence differences from the human genome were confirmed to be ~1% in areas that can be precisely aligned, representing ~35 million single base-pair differences. Some 45 million nucleotides of insertions and deletions unique to each lineage were also discovered, making the actual difference between the two genomes ~4%. |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923202404/http://www.chd.ucsd.edu/_files/fall2008/Varki.2007.ARA.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sayers">{{cite journal |last1=Sayers |first1=Ken |last2=Raghanti |first2=Mary Ann |last3=Lovejoy |first3=C. Owen |author3-link=Owen Lovejoy (anthropologist) |date=October 2012 |title=Human Evolution and the Chimpanzee Referential Doctrine |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=41 |pages=119–138 |doi=10.1146/annurev-anthro-092611-145815 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref> It is also noteworthy that mice share around 97.5% of their working DNA with humans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=#author. Coghlan |first=Andy |date=May 30, 2002 |title=Just 2.5% of DNA turns mice into men |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2352-just-2-5-of-dna-turns-mice-into-men/#:~:text=Mice%20and%20men%20share%20about%2097.5%20per,mouse-human%20differences%20as%20high%20as%2015%20per. |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref>  By using the technique called the [[molecular clock]] which estimates the time required for the number of divergent mutations to accumulate between two lineages, the approximate date for the split between lineages can be calculated.

The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and then the orangutans (genus ''Pongo'') were the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans—followed by gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and, ultimately, by the chimpanzees (genus ''Pan''). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between {{Mya|4|8}}, that is, during the [[Late Miocene]].{{sfn|Dawkins|2004}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.timetree.org/index.php?taxon_a=Hominidae&taxon_b=Hylobatidae&submit=Search |title=Find Time of Divergence: Hominidae versus Hylobatidae |website=[[TimeTree]] |access-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150418222205/http://www.timetree.org/index.php?taxon_a=Hominidae&taxon_b=Hylobatidae&submit=Search |archive-date=April 18, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ruvolo |first=Maryellen |date=October 1997 |title=Genetic Diversity in Hominoid Primates |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=26 |pages=515–540 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.515 |issn=0084-6570}}</ref><ref name="Ruvolo1997">{{cite journal |last=Ruvolo |first=Maryellen |date=March 1997 |title=Molecular Phylogeny of the Hominoids: Inferences from Multiple Independent DNA Sequence Data Sets |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=248–265 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025761 |issn=0737-4038 |pmid=9066793 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Speciation, however, appears to have been unusually drawn out. Initial divergence occurred sometime between {{Mya|7|13}}, but ongoing hybridization blurred the separation and delayed complete separation during several millions of years. Patterson (2006) dated the final divergence at {{Mya|5|6}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=N. |last2=Richter |first2=D. J. |last3=Gnerre |first3=S. |last4=Lander |first4=E. S. |last5=Reich |first5=D. |date=2006 |title=Genetic evidence for complex speciation of humans and chimpanzees |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=441 |issue=7097 |pages=1103–1108 |doi=10.1038/nature04789 |pmid=16710306 |bibcode=2006Natur.441.1103P |s2cid=2325560}}</ref>

Genetic evidence has also been employed to compare species within the genus ''Homo'', investigating [[Archaic human admixture with modern humans|gene flow between early modern humans and Neanderthals]], and to enhance the understanding of the early human migration patterns and splitting dates. By comparing the parts of the genome that are [[Neutral theory of molecular evolution|not under natural selection]] and which therefore accumulate mutations at a fairly steady rate, it is possible to reconstruct a genetic tree incorporating the entire human species since the last shared ancestor.

Each time a certain mutation ([[single-nucleotide polymorphism]]) appears in an individual and is passed on to his or her descendants, a haplogroup is formed including all of the descendants of the individual who will also carry that mutation. By comparing mitochondrial [[DNA]] which is inherited only from the mother, geneticists have concluded that the last female common ancestor whose [[genetic marker]] is found in all modern humans, the so-called [[mitochondrial Eve]], must have lived around 200,000 years ago.

Human evolutionary genetics studies how [[human genome]]s differ among individuals, the evolutionary past that gave rise to them, and their current effects. Differences between genomes have [[Anthropology|anthropological]], medical and [[Forensic science|forensic]] implications and applications. Genetic data can provide important insight into human evolution.

In May 2023, scientists reported a more complicated pathway of human evolution than previously understood. According to the studies, humans evolved from different places and times in Africa, instead of from a single location and period of time.<ref name="NYT-20230517">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Study Offers New Twist in How the First Humans Evolved - A new genetic analysis of 290 people suggests that humans emerged at various times and places in Africa. |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/science/human-origins-africa.html |date=May 17, 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url= https://archive.today/20230517235653/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/science/human-origins-africa.html |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |access-date=May 18, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NAT-20230517">{{cite journal |last1=Ragsdale |first1=Aaron P. |display-authors=et al. |title=A weakly structured stem for human origins in Africa |date=May 17, 2023 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=167 |issue=7962 |pages=755–763 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06055-y |pmid=37198480 |pmc=10208968 |bibcode=2023Natur.617..755R}}</ref>