It Takes Two to Tango: A Pluralist Account for Building Comprehensive Explanations in Human Evolution

Abstract

The evolutionary study of human dispersal is a key topic in biological anthropology. However, recent research has revealed inconsistencies between molecular and anatomical data across different timescales and geographic regions. Despite increased interdisciplinary dialogue, these discordances are rarely analyzed in depth or interpreted for their biological significance. We present two case studies: human diversification in Southeast Asia and the Americas, which highlight persistent conflicts between morphological and genetic interpretations. Drawing on recent calls for extending the conceptual tools of evolutionary theory, we argue for a pluralist explanatory framework that can account for developmental plasticity, environmental responsiveness, and multiple trajectories of inheritance. We show how treating different datasets as epistemically equal—rather than subordinating anatomical data to molecular “controls”—allows for more comprehensive and nuanced explanations of evolutionary phenomena. This approach not only offers new insights into past human variation but also addresses long-standing issues of disciplinary fragmentation.