Wolpoff

Milford H. Wolpoff is an American paleoanthropologist best known for advocating the multiregional evolution model of Homo sapiens. The theory posits that modern humans arose from local populations of Homo erectus in Africa, Europe, and Asia, with ongoing gene flow maintaining regional continuity in anatomy and behavior rather than a single origin.

Together with Australian paleoanthropologist Alan Thorne, Wolpoff argued that fossil morphology across regions shows gradual, geographically structured evolution and that genetic data can be interpreted within a multiregional framework. He emphasized that regional variation in the fossil record could reflect long-term population structure and migration rather than a strict neat separation of lineages.

His work helped sustain a major debate over human origins, contrasting multiregional continuity with the Out of Africa replacement model. Critics have emphasized genetic evidence supporting a more recent African origin with limited admixture, while supporters credit Wolpoff with broadening the interpretive framework for fossils and morphology.

In addition to his theoretical contributions, Wolpoff has published extensively on human evolution and has contributed to scholarly journals and pedagogy within paleoanthropology. The Wolpoff name is closely associated with ongoing discussions about regional variation, gene flow, and the interpretation of the human fossil record.