[realpatriot71]

how long would it take, given the proper separation, for man to develop the physical differences we witness today.

I'll be honest. I don't know, but since I'm a believer in a recent creation I'd guess approximately 20,000-10,000 years.

[twigs]

Have you read Bryan Sykes' The Seven Daughters of Eve: The Science That Reveals Our Genetic Ancestry? He argues that genetic mutations of mitachondrial DNA would trace most--I think around 95%--of Europeans back to seven women, the oldest of which would have been 35,000-40,000 years ago. That's from memory, so I'm not certain about the exact years he postulates. He also assumes that all these women were descended from an Eve. I found the book fascinating, but I could not evaluate it properly because I just don't know enough about genetics. I also believe in a more recent creation, but I can't always reconcile the differences I read between competing theories.