It is indeed interesting to ponder where homo sapiens sapiens first started out from. It’s not actually entirely necessary that it all happened in one place even – that ability to interbreed with Neanderthals and Denisovans shows that the break didn’t have to have just the one starting point.
However, the language used about it all needs some revision:
Where exactly in Africa we first appeared has never been established, however. Some researchers have argued that the cradle of humankind lay in the east, in Ethiopia or Kenya. Others have put their money on South Africa. But most were sure it would only be a matter of time before our species’ birthplace was pinpointed: perhaps on land covering a huge estuary that once groaned with fish or near a vast slice of savannah rich with game. It was here, in some Stone Age paradise, that our more primitive predecessors honed their intellectual and cultural skills and were transformed into Homo sapiens, a species of primate notable for its rounded skull, small face, prominent chin, advanced tools, high intelligence and sophisticated culture.
That wouldn’t be the right place to start anyway. A rich environment is not something that is going to promote intelligence – with that expensive brain to feed – as a survival aid. It’s living on the edge, not among plenty, that requires the cunning and the smarts. But:
It is a neat picture. However, in recent years cracks have begun to appear in this simple image of our distant past, mainly because plausible candidates for our birthplace have proved hard to find. As a result, a growing number of researchers are turning away from the idea that such an Arcadia existed. As the Harvard geneticist David Reich has put it: “When it comes to human ancestry, there was no Garden of Eden.”
Yes, OK, we know what is meant by Eden here but it’s still the wrong concept. As far as any animal has ever had it Eden is right now. By any standard of history we’ve solved the problem of economic scarcity. All have shelter, warmth, food – hey, sure, maybe not steak for all and a 25oC central heating system but compared to being out there we’ve all got it all. We’ve done it, We’ve created that Eden, the land of milk and honey.
As I often point out, the good old days are right now. The language we use should acknowledge that. There was no primeval past when everything was just coming up roses, the best we’ve ever done is early 21st century capitalism.