Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38777837›Full record

ArticleNature communications2024

Environmental conditions associated with initial northern expansion of anatomically modern humans.

Frédérik Saltré, Joël Chadœuf, Thomas Higham, Monty Ochocki, Sebastián Block, Ellyse Bunney, Bastien Llamas, Corey J A Bradshaw

Abstract readHistorical Article
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Parallels and discrepancies between non-native species introductions and human migration.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025
    Review
  2. Article
  3. Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Frédérik SaltréGlobal Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia. frederik.saltre@flinders.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5040-3911
Joël ChadœufUR 1052, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA), Montfavet, France.
Thomas HighamDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Carl Djerassi Platz 1, A-1030, Wien, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5949-598X
Monty OchockiDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, University Biology Building, Carl Djerassi Platz 1, A-1030, Wien, Austria.
Sebastián BlockDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544-1003, USA.
Ellyse BunneyCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Urrbrae, SA, 5064, Australia.
Bastien LlamasAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5550-9176
Corey J A BradshawGlobal Ecology | Partuyarta Ngadluku Wardli Kuu, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5328-7741

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ability of our ancestors to switch food sources and to migrate to more favourable environments enabled the rapid global expansion of anatomically modern humans beyond Africa as early as 120,000 years ago. Whether this versatility was largely the result of environmentally determined processes or was instead dominated by cultural drivers, social structures, and interactions among different groups, is unclear. We develop a statistical approach that combines both archaeological and genetic data to infer the more-likely initial expansion routes in northern Eurasia and the Americas. We then quantify the main differences in past environmental conditions between the more-likely routes and other potential (less-likely) routes of expansion. We establish that, even though cultural drivers remain plausible at finer scales, the emergent migration corridors were predominantly constrained by a combination of regional environmental conditions, including the presence of a forest-grassland ecotone, changes in temperature and precipitation, and proximity to rivers.

Indexed as

ArchaeologyHuman MigrationAmericasAsiaEnvironmentEuropeForestsGrasslandHistory, AncientHumansRiversTemperature

Identifiers

PMID38777837
PMCPMC11111671

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.