A growing body of research suggests that modern humans did not originate from a single location, but instead emerged through interactions among groups spread across different regions of Africa. Traditionally, scientists have explained where these populations lived based mainly on climate. New findings now point to another powerful influence: disease, particularly malaria.

In a study published in Science Advances , researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the University of Cambridge, and collaborating institutions explored whether malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum affected where humans chose to live between 74,000 and 5,000 years ago.…