Question

Which piece of evidence BEST supports the "multiregional evolution" model of the evolution of modern humans?

1) Molecular clocks date the last common ancestor of modern humans to about 171,500 years ago.

2) lPresent-day human populations from Africa have greater genetic diversity than non-African populations.

3) African Homo ergaster/erectus appear almost simultaneously with Asian Homo erectus, 1.6 to 1.9 million years ago.

4) Both Asian fossil Homo erectus and modern Asian human populations show a high frequency of shovel-shaped incisors.

5) There is no solid evidence supporting the multiregional hypothesis.

Answer 1

The high frequency of shovel-shaped incisors found in both ancient Homo erectus fossils and modern human populations in Asia supports the multiregional evolution model of human evolution, which suggests that modern humans evolved in numerous locations concurrently and maintained species integrity through gene flow.

Step-by-step explanation:

The piece of evidence that BEST supports the multiregional evolution model for the evolution of modern humans is: 'Both Asian fossil Homo erectus and modern Asian human populations show a high frequency of shovel-shaped incisors.'

The multiregional evolution model of human evolution suggests that modern humans evolved from Homo erectus in several places around the world, roughly at the same time. This model views modern human populations as having evolved in situ, with continuous gene flow between geographically separated populations preventing significant divergence and thus maintaining the species as a single unit.

A piece of evidence supporting this model would be the continuity in the regional anatomy of archaic and modern humans, such as dental characteristics. In this context, the shovel-shaped incisors frequently found in both Asian fossils and modern populations suggest a regional continuity that is consistent with the multiregional hypothesis.