Genomes Recast Human Origins

Ancient and modern whole‑genome data have moved from supporting to driving narratives of human evolution, so paleogenomics—not fossils alone—is now the primary evidentiary engine reshaping our models of dispersal, admixture, and timing. This produces a methodological inversion: instead of fossils constraining genetic models, dense genetic sampling is now constraining interpretation of sparse fossil finds. — If genomes become the dominant public and scientific narrative device, education, museum narratives, and identity politics will shift—affecting how societies think about ancestry, migration, and human diversity.