In
paleoanthropology, the
recent African origin of modern humans, or the
"out of Africa" theory (
OOA), is the most widely accepted model of the geographic origin and
early migration of
anatomically modern humans. The theory is called the "out-of-Africa" theory in the popular press, and the "
recent single-origin hypothesis" (
RSOH), "
replacement hypothesis", or "
recent African origin model" (
RAO) by experts in the field. The concept was speculative before it was corroborated in the 1980s by a study of present-day
mitochondrial DNA, combined with evidence based on
physical anthropology of archaic
specimens.