The reversal of human phylogeny: Homo left Africa as erectus, came back as sapiens sapiens

[Abramelin]

Background:

The molecular out of Africa hypothesis, OOAH, has been considered as an established fact amid population geneticists for some 25–30 years despite the early concern with it among phylogeneticists with experience beyond that of Homo. The palaeontological support for the hypothesis is also questionable, a circumstance that in the light of expanding Eurasian palaeontological knowledge has become accentuated through the last decades.

Results:

The direction of evolution in the phylogenetic tree of modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens, Hss) was established inter alia by applying progressive phylogenetic analysis to an mtDNA sampling that included a Eurasian, Lund, and the African Mbuti, San and Yoruba. The examination identified the African populations as paraphyletic, thereby compromising the OOAH. The finding, which was consistent with the out of Eurasia hypothesis, OOEH, was corroborated by the mtDNA introgression from Hss into Hsnn (Neanderthals) that demonstrated the temporal and physical Eurasian coexistence of the two lineages. The results are consistent with the palaeontologically established presence of H. erectus in Eurasia, a Eurasian divergence between H. sapiens and H. antecessor ≈ 850,000 YBP, an Hs divergence between Hss and Hsn (Neanderthals + Denisovans) ≈ 800,000 YBP, an mtDNA introgression from Hss into Hsnn* ≈ 500,000 YBP and an Eurasian divergence among the ancestors of extant Hss ≈ 250,000 YBP at the exodus of Mbuti/San into Africa.

Conclusions: ...

https://hereditasjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41065-020-00163-9

[Alchopwn]

So the $64 question is where in the world and why did the changes occur?

[Abramelin]

27 minutes ago, Alchopwn said:

So the $64 question is where in the world and why did the changes occur?

Why the changes occurred? The paper doesn't answer.

Where? Here:

https://hereditasjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41065-020-00163-9/figures/5

[Alchopwn]

So Iran, perhaps Afghanistan, and the Himalayas?  That is all hilly or mountainous terrain now and likely was before too.  I wonder what drove the evolution?