Liu H. auteur aut IRD Prugnolle Franck auteur aut IRD Manica A. auteur aut IRD Balloux F. auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Currently available genetic and archaeological evidence is generally interpreted as supportive of a recent single origin of modern humans in East Africa. However, this is where the near consensus on human settlement history ends, and considerable uncertainty clouds any more detailed aspect of human colonization history. Here, we present a dynamic genetic model of human settlement history coupled with explicit geographical distances from East Africa, the likely origin of modern humans. We search for the best-supported parameter space by fitting our analytical prediction to genetic data that are based on 52 human populations analyzed at 783 autosomal microsatellite markers. This framework allows us to jointly estimate the key parameters of the expansion of modern humans. Our best estimates suggest an initial expansion of modern humans similar to 56,000 years ago from a small founding population of similar to 1,000 effective individuals. Our model further points to high growth rates in newly colonized habitats. The general fit of the model with the data is excellent. This suggests that coupling analytical genetic models with explicit demography and geography provides a powerful tool for making inferences on human-settlement history. specialized AFRIQUE DE L'EST 020 106 79 2 230-237 2006 0002-9297 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010054730 10.1086/505436 0002-9297 [F B010054730] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010054730 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/2025-01/010054730.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2006-08-30 2025-01-03 fdi:010054730 fre