In testing the genetic material of current populations in Africa and comparing against existing fossil evidence of early Homo sapiens populations there, researchers have uncovered a new model of human evolution — overturning previous beliefs that a single African population gave rise to all humans.

UC Davis anthropologist Alexander Harcourt sums up the latest research on early human migration around the planet, saying that Homo sapiens left Africa earlier than previously thought and our diverse cultures have been heavily influenced by geography.