‘Who we are’ focus of professor’s research

By: Angel Vallejos/Staff Writer

Humans now know where they are, they might even know when they are – depending on what calendar they use – but who they are is the focus of a biology professor’s research.

Rene Herrera, biology professor in the College of Medicine’s department of human and molecular genetics, along with graduate student Robert Lowery, are trying to solve the “who we are” dilemma in Owa Ehan 304. Herrera’s research focuses on human evolution in a sub field of this discipline known as human migrations.

By using genetic markers, such as mitochondria DNA, Herrera assesses the patterns of human migration, as well as phylogenetic, or evolutionary relatedness, relationships of human populations worldwide.

Herrera tries to gain an understanding on how, and to some extent why, modern humans migrated to nearly all extremities of the earth. Since all evidence points to humans migrating out of Earth, one case study that intrigues scientists is the Polynesian population. As Herrera notes, the Polynesian population managed to populate areas ranging from Hawaii to Easter Island all the way to New Zealand.

They did this by building elaborate ships, though reasons why still remain unclear.

However, this doesn’t stop Herrera from thinking that maybe a certain group was in trouble, or maybe they got lost fishing. Herrera, in an interview with  Student Media, stated, “this [Polynesian migration] occurred 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, not only to Oceania or the Pacific but also to the other direction [West] towards Africa, so the island of Madagascar is populated by Orientals [Asians].” This diaspora all started from Taiwan.

In fact, Herrera notes that the languages spoken in Madagascar have some similarities with those of Polynesian backgrounds.

Herrera’s lab is careful in not getting comfortable about setting big goals.

“In research you can setup goals all you want, but you may or may not succeed or you can say I’m going to get more information how Austrionesians migrated throughout Oceania,” he said.

Herrera’s research goal is to gain an understanding of who we are. He does this because he believes a scientist must be realistic and understand that science changes. What is thought to be the case today may not be so tomorrow.

Herrera has been interested in this field since he was a teenager. Albeit he did not have a lab but, as he notes, it didn’t stop him from reading about human migration nor does he plan on stopping now.

To understand what Herrera researches, one must first understand the history of modern humans.

The overall scientific consensus is that modern humans share a common ancestor with the great apes of Africa. These common ancestors are believed to have lived six to eight million years ago.

The first ancestors in the lineage leading to modern day humans were Australopithecines. Australopithecines was the first single species of ape that was bipedal, or the first to learn how to walk upright.

They were social animals. And recent research suggests they may have been carnivores, which pushes back the previous notion the usage of tools came later in evolution.

Then came Homo Habilis which inhabited the earth about 1.4 million to 2.4 million years ago. The name Habilis literally means “handy man.” Homo Habilis is generally perceived as the point in history where logical reasoning took place to create tools. Habilis is also known for having an larger braincase than Australopithecines.

After Habilis came Homo Erectus, which according to Lowery, lived about 1.8 million to 2.2 million years ago. Erectus is characterized by a larger brain and flatter forehead.

They were even taller as author Howells Williams notes in “Getting here: The Story of Human Evolution,” Erectus stood in at about 5’5.

Lowery notes that Erectus migrated out of Africa to Eurasia and the Middle East, and survived mainly because they were good at hunting. Neanderthals succeeded Habilis. Neanderthals lived about 30,000 to 300,000 years ago.

Lowery has researched neanderthals for about five years.

Unfortunately for Neanderthals, they didn’t grow much, they too hovered at about 5’5 on average.

The first tools with pointed tips are thought to be developed by this time. A time honored tradition in modern human culture such as burials is believed to come from Neanderthals. Furthermore, pollen remains have been found in these burial sites, which adds to the notion that flowers might have been brought to the deceased. There is no way of truly knowing how pollen got there but these discoveries excited scientists.

Archaic homo sapiens came to existence about 200,000 to 500,000 years ago. These archaic homo sapiens were also very knowledgeable in making tools. In fact, many “hand axes” were found which suggest they were a hunting species.

They are known to have a steeper forehead which points to more emphasis on the forebrain where the frontal lobe is found. Within the frontal lobe is the pre-frontal cortex which is responsible for the development of personality, and complex cognitive behaviors. This doesn’t mean that earlier hominids did not have a frontal lobe but rather homo sapiens had more emphasis on the frontal lobe due to their braincase.

The modern human stage or modern Homo sapiens, may been around for 120,000 years. This stage includes present day humans. This species is the smartest hominid species to walk the earth. All evidence points to modern humans almost exclusively coming from Africa.

“Africa is like this hominid producing pot and it’s clear though that the modern humans came out of Africa,” said Lowery to Student Media. “The early hominids that stayed in Africa led to modern humans.”