Are humans migrants by nature?
By: Fernando Cabarrús
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| source: http://www.frontrangeforum.org/courses/a-laymans-study-of-human-evolution/ |
Basic Definition
Human migration is the
movement of individuals, family units, or large groups from one place to
another with the intention of settling temporarily or permanently in the
destination place. Due to the existence of political country boundaries,
migration processes can be divided into internal and external migration.
Internal migration
refers to the movement of people within a political unit (usually a country)
while external migration refers to the migration from one political unit to
another, usually long distances apart.
Besides migration,
there are also nomadic groups of people. This groups are not large nor vast in
the modern day World and their movements are not considered migration as
described above since they usually do not have the intention of settling on a
specific point (temporarily or permanently). Due to the same reason, the
temporarily movement of people due to travels, pilgrimages, commutes, etc. are
not considered migration processes.
What are the reasons for this migration?
The best explanation
for human migration it the pressure that groups of humans receive from the
environment that made their lives not sustainable while the population kept on
growing. The most important of this environmental pressures are:
- Food: Is the most basic population pressure and it is most likely that this one played a decisive role in driving people out of Africa. With a certain technology, a defined piece of land can produce a certain amount of food to support a certain amount of individuals. Modern agriculture and technology has increased greatly food output per unit of land. Early humans were only gatherers and hunters, after a certain period of time with a growing population, the animals to hunt and fruits to gather are not enough to feed everyone and the easiest solution, if there is not habited land, is to move some distance away to where the food is available. It is important to note that to make this possible, human adaptation to new and different environments is necessary and humans have demonstrated their capacity to adapt to different conditions throughout history.
- Space: Besides food, an increasing population in a certain area decreases sanitary conditions and a general decline in living standards. It also may lead to an increase in violence and confrontation between members of a community. If surrounding land is empty, the easiest way of solving this problem is by moving to an adjacent areas.
- Weather and climate: In short term, weather can drive a population out of one area into another. Flooding, severe storms, earthquakes and other natural events may cause the need of migration, Long-term migration patterns have been driven by climate change. A shift in weather conditions can transform a once rich in fruits and game into a desert, making it impossible for humans to continue living in this place. Changes in sea level (especially due to overall temperature changes) have also make more land available for humans and have given the possibility to go to new places.
- War and politics: Some scholars theorize that war and political oppression are usually caused by population pressure. When the political conditions change or a war occurs, groups of people decide to migrate to other areas.
- Economics: After the industrial revolution, the amount of people that produces the food they eat declined and exchange mechanisms have become more important in order for each individual to solve their basic needs. This exchange mechanisms are usually money based and subject to economy studies. In order to earn money, human groups migrate to where the economical yield of their work is bigger and therefore, be able to cover their basic or other necessities.
- The human spirit: Although this is difficult to measure, it is thought that humans have an innate desire and will to explore and colonize new territories even when the above cases are not present.
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| source: Die ersten Menschen, Weltbild Verlag, 2000. ISBN 3-8289-0741-5 |
Prehistory
As a biological
species, humankind cannot be explained or understood without taken
migration processes into consideration. Early humanoids remains of around 4
million years are found in several places of East Africa. Remains of early
migrations go back up to 1 million years in North Africa.
The most accepted
theory for the early human migration is the Out of Africa Theory. This theory
locates the beginning of the intensive migration process of the modern human
took place somewhere between 100,000 to 60,000 years ago, when Neanderthals and
Homo Sapiens Sapiens (modern humans) began moving around Europe, Asia and
Africa. Movement of people into the Americas and Australia took place through
several migration processes with the help of weather variations, ice ages, and
other natural phenomena that promoted and allowed these movements.
Using modern
technology, like examining mitochondrial-DNA, it has been possible to somehow
rebuild the patterns of early human migration. Between 90,000 and 30,000 years
ago, Humans moved away from Africa following the coasts, where resources were
abundant and moved into the Middle East, Southeast Asia and all the way into
Oceania. Between 40,000 and 12,000 humans moved into Europe and northern parts
of Asia.
Due to climate
conditions, there was a bridge formed between Asia and North America, a region
called Beringia. It is believed that the first humans crossed over 30,000 years
ago, moving along the coast of North America. Populations in America kept on
expanding until the occupied the hole continent.
Bibliography
- Haywood, John, Ph.D. Atlas of World History. Barnes & Noble (2001).
- How Stuff Works. How Human Migration Works. http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/human-migration1.htm
- National Geographic. The Genographic Project. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
- Schopf, J. William. Major Events In The History Of Life. Jones & Bartlett, (December 17, 1991).
- Smithsonian Institution. "Theories on Modern Human Origins and Diversity." http://anthropology.si.edu/humanorigins/faq/Encarta/diversity.htm#ooagenographic/atlas.html
- Smithsoninan.com. The Great Human Migration. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-human-migration-13561/?page=2
