In 1856, a fossil was discovered in Germany of a human-like creature. There were several differences between that creature and modern humans, however. The shape of the skull was different. The length of legs and arms were different. The creature in the fossil was dubbed “Neanderthal.” Subsequent searches for fossils uncovered additional evidence of ancient humans who dwelled in caves including pictographs and petroglyphs. Further examination prompt the discovery of basic tools including spear tips and other implements. Subsequent discoveries prompted the formation of an entire field of study of ancient humans and their predecessors. The study of human origins was spurred by the publication of several influential 19th century books including Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” (1859) and Thomas Huxley’s “Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature” (1863). Darwin subsequently published “The Descent of Man” in 1871.

By the early 20th century the study of the origins of humans had been given the name “paleoanthropology,” and its study became a part of many university education and research programs. Louis Leakey was a Kenyan-British paleoanthropologist and archaeologist. Together with his second wife and fellow paleoanthropologist, Mary Leakey, he pursued the theory that humans evolved in Africa. Together they made significant discoveries at Olduval Gorge. Among their discoveries was the remains of Proconsul Africans, a common ancestor of both humans and apes that lived about 25 million years ago.

The discoveries of paleoanthropologist stirred controversy, primarily among some religious leaders who misunderstood the scientific evidence and interpreted it as standing in contrast to Biblical Creation stories. Scientists persisted in their studies despite opposition and continued to make discoveries about the past. In the 1980s scientists began to use new tools to continue their explorations. By analyzing DNA in living human populations, geneticists could trace lineages backward in time. These new discoveries have led to a widely accepted theory that modern humans, homo sapiens, evolved in Africa, probably around 200,000 years ago. Most DNA studies didn’t use DNA from a cell’s nucleus that contained chromosomes inherited from both father and mother. Rather a shorter strand of DNA, contained in the mitochondria formed the basis of the majority of research. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother. It mutates at a significant rate with the mutations carried along in subsequent generations. This means that scientists can compare the mutations in living populations and, making assumptions about how frequently mutations occur, can trace the genetic code backward through generations.

This scientific tracing of the human family tree has led scientists to conclude that about 200,000 years ago, a woman existed who’s mitochondrial DNA was the source of the DNA in every human alive today. We are all descendants of this single person. Scientists have dubbed her “Eve,” but that is an unfortunate because it leads people to think that she was the first and only human woman. In reality, human population was small 200,000 years ago, but there were probably about 10,000 people. Of those people one woman from that time has an unbroken lineage of daughters. She is not our only ancestor. And she is not our oldest ancestor. She is, however, as far back as mitochondrial DNA can be traced with current technologies.

That is a very long introduction to the beginnings of human migration. According to scientists, modern humans, homo sapiens, began to migrate out of Africa around 60,000 years ago. That human migration continued over thousands of years ago but eventually people moved from one place to another as their population grew expanding over long distances. They also competed with and eventually contributed to the extinction of other hominoids. In the Far East, scattered pockets of Homo erectus continued to exist but eventually disappeared. In Europe and Asia, Neanderthals and Homo sapiens co-existed for about 15,000 years before Neanderthals disappeared.

The great human migration that began 60,000 years ago continues to this day. People move from one place to another, often over very long distances for a wide variety of reasons. They move in search of food, discovering new hunting and growing grounds. They move to escape conflict and war. They move to seek a more comfortable climate. And as humans move around the globe they change the evolution of our species. Paleoanthropologists tell a story of Homo sapiens contributing to the extinction of other human-like creatures, but they also document how humans have contributed to the extinction of other species by over hunting, and participated in the spread of other invasive species that have disrupted the natural order around the globe. One might say that humans are an invasive species.

Around the time that Darwin was writing his books about evolution, European colonists in North and South America were exporting furs of various animals back to Europe. In search of less expensive furs, live animals were domesticated and brought back to Europe. Some of those farm animals escaped into the wild and some thrived in their new environments. Giant South American rodents, known as coypu, and also as swamp rats, were imported to harvest their furs for hats and coat trims. Wild populations of the rodents now occupy every continent except Antartica. They have been recognized as one of the world’s 100 worst invasive species.

I have no interest in raising domesticated swamp rats for their fur or for their meat. Yes, they have been raised for meat. In the 1960s coypu meat was sold in British restaurants and labeled “Argentine hare,” and more recently a Moscow burger restaurant has sold it as healthy meat, leaner than beef. However, I do participate in the raising of another invasive species. Honey bees, dubbed “European” were imported to this continent from Italy and other countries. The bees I raise probably are descended from bees domesticated as long ago as 2600 BC in Egypt. They are not native to this continent. Although I am aware of only one swarm from my colonies, which I was able to capture and return to my hives from the neighbor’s trees, it is possible that my bees have or might sometime in the future migrate to wild locations where they will compete with native bees and other pollinators. It is a responsibility that I take seriously and I try to be as wise a steward of my honey producing pets as I am able, but I stand in the long lineage of humans who have migrated from the place of their birth and participated in the migration of other species as well. Neither me nor my bees are native Washingtonians. We are, however, attempting to be good neighbors and live in peace with the natives. So far it is working out and no mass deportations have been ordered against us. The bees have no fingers to cross, so I’m keeping mine crossed as I watch to see what will happen.