06/15/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EWCuhXzq5/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Every person on Earth is descended from migrants.
"Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border."
Pope Leo XIV made that statement this week while standing on the docks of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria, one of Europe's most significant migration gateways. Speaking to migrants, rescue workers, and aid organizations, he reflected on the thousands of people who risk dangerous journeys across the Atlantic seeking safety, opportunity, or a better life.
Whatever your views on migration policy, the quote touches on something science has revealed about our species.
From an evolutionary perspective, migration is one of the defining characteristics of humanity.
Modern humans evolved in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago. Around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, some populations began expanding outward, gradually spreading across Asia, Europe, Australia, and eventually the Americas. Every person alive today descends from generations of people who moved into unfamiliar territories in search of food, resources, safety, or opportunity.
Genetics has revealed just how closely related we all are. Any two humans on Earth share about 99.9% of their DNA. In fact, there is often more genetic variation within a single population than between populations on different continents.
Anthropologists also believe our ability to cooperate with unrelated individuals helped make us one of the most successful species in Earth's history. Humans built vast networks of trade, communication, and shared knowledge long before the first modern nations existed.
Today, borders divide countries, languages, and cultures. But from the perspective of biology, all humans belong to a single young species that spread across the planet in an evolutionary blink of an eye.
