200,000 years ago, the foremother of all the current human race lived in a green oasis in what is now Botswana.
This is the opinion of geneticists at Sydney University in Australia . They mapped the DNA in the energy grains of more than 1,200 people of African ethnicity.
Cell power plants reveal the story
Energy particles are a kind of energy source of the cells, and their genetic material is transmitted only from the mother.
The DNA in energy grains undergoes only minor changes over a long period of time and is therefore suitable for tracing genetic history.
The small changes that occur over many thousands of years are useful for determining when different branches have emerged on the family tree.
By tracing this history backwards, the most original version of the energy particles can be found.
Our ancestors lived in a lush place
The results showed that the origin can be traced to the desert region of Makgadikgadi in Botswana.
200,000 years ago there was a green oasis there and, according to the scientists, a fertile home for humans for about 30,000 years.
After that, the genetic material of the energy particles split into many branches, and this suggests that people moved away.
Geological studies have shown that the climate in this area changed 170,000 years ago. Then vegetation areas were formed to the north-east and south-west and through them people have gradually moved to other homelands.