Contributions of Genetics to the Reconstruction of Human History in Africa - Admission/Application Essay Example

Genetics as a discipline played a crucial role in creating authentic information on human history in Africa, where humankind originated. Variations in the human physique between different people from different geographical locations have been one major aspect of such studies (MacEachern, 358). In paleoanthropology, genetics made new inroads into the hitherto hidden areas of human evolution and the relationship of present-day humans “with other hominids” (MacEachern, 358). This has been achieved through “gene sequencing” (MacEachern, 358). The “genetic relationships” between modern-day human groups have also been analysed (MacEachern, 358). The tendency to justify certain notions of race supremacy based on genetic research on different human groups has been reversed in the due process and instead all claims of correlation between genetic features and race have been proven faulty (MacEachern, 358).

A “continental genetic tree of African populations” has been prepared by Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi, and Piazza (MacEachern, 364). It was also proved through such studies that climate and latitude essentially had an effect on “different gene frequencies” seen in African populations (MacEachern, 364). The revelation that the environment has a determining impact on the genetic make-up has great political implications and provides hope for uniting humanity in a moral and cultural sense. Another discovery regarding the people of Africa by geneticists showed that the present-day African people had in their genetic makeup, traces of “Caucasoid” people of Europe and South-West Asia as a result of “imported genes” (MacEachern, 364). On the other hand, it has also been proved, the European people with their white skin emerged from African populations under the influence of the different environmental conditions and a number of different population groups with specific genetic characteristics existed between these two groups (MacEachern, 365). In this manner, genetically there existed “two-way relations” (MacEachern, 365).

An interesting thing to note with respect to the African human gene pool is that “the high-level cluster of sub-Saharan African populations contains 33 of the 49 populations of the phylogenetic tree” (MacEachern, 365). This again led to more clarity regarding the universal genetic make-up of humankind. Researchers like Cavalli-Sforza, Thomas, Turnbull, Mbuti and Biaka have contributed in confirming the gene admixture involved through their studies on the genetic characteristics of different populations in Africa (MacEachern, 365). MacEachern has also added to these insights, his own observation that rather than “tribal” typologies”, the “deme concept” could be more helpful in generating authentic data and findings in this field (MacEachern, 371). Here deme is small human subgroups that have more resemblance among their members than with members of other demes (MacEachern, 365).