Tales of the Migration: How Our Ancestors Walked around the Worldand What They Can Teach Us about Our Human Family
Compiled and Edited by David Overly, Ph.D.
Believe it or not, our recent ancestors walked around the world. During the last ice age, sea levels were close to four hundred feet lower than they are now. Continental shelves were exposed, so behaviorally-modern humans could walk from Africa to Asia, most of the way from Asia to Australia, and from Siberia to Alaska across the Bering Strait. Recent genetic evidence, first uncovered by Luca Cavalli-Sforza, has revealed their path. These stories chronicle and illustrate key steps of human migration: the exodus of modern humans from Africa, 50,000 years ago, the trek to Australia, the arrival in Central Asia, the early encounters with Neanderthals, the pursuit of reindeer across the frozen tundra, the discovery of an ice-free-corridor east of the Rockies, opening up the Americas to settlement, and the voyages to Pacific islands. By giving a face to the people who took these journeys, the stories shed light on our common heritage and encourage us to move beyond shortsighted tribalism to embrace our shared humanity.
David Overly, Ph.D., has taught film and literature at the college level for over forty-five years. He has taught in the English Department at Southern California’s Citrus College for the past thirty-five years. Recently, he has developed a peace studies program at Citrus College, the third such program at a California community college.