Homo sapiens appeared 100,000. years earlier than thought? New discovery in Morocco

The remains of Homo sapiens found at an archaeological site in Morocco push back the beginnings of our species’ history by 100,000 years. Dating results indicate that our earliest relatives appeared as early as 300,000 years ago.

The surprising discovery was made in Jabal Ighud in southern Morocco. The first fossils were excavated there as early as the 1960s. last century. They came across them górnica. In addition to human bones, a number of stone tools were also found there. Scientists studying the finds have ruled that the bones belong to Neanderthalsów, whichóers inhabited the area about 40,000 years ago.

In 2004, on the site of the returnóciliated researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute, but in the meantime a number of róof theories about the earlier discoveries. Someóers researchers suggested that the bones did not belong to Neanderthalsów and that they are much older.

During the work, the international teamół researchers led by Paleoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Jean-Jacques Hublin Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Michigan. The Max Planck Foundation has come across more bones belonging to five waspsób. The m.In. skull bones, teeth and a well-preserved mandible. More stone tools have also been discovered, as well as animal bones bearing traces of the ringóbki.

Photo. Mohammed Kamal/ MPI EVA/Leipzig

Researchers used state-of-the-art computer techniques to reconstruct the appearance of the skulls found. They were amazed to find that they were confusingly similar to wsp skullsómodern humans. They were even more stunned by the results of thermoluminescence dating (this method measures when an object was last exposed to radiation) of stone tools. They indicated that the tools were 315,000 years old. A similar age was obtained by dating animal fossils.

After an in-depth analysis, the scientists determined that our Moroccan ancestors were very similar to us. A distinctly different detailóThe anatomical evidence was only móThe skull, whichóra was severely elongated. In view of such factów scientists have ruled that these are the remains of early individualsów of the species Homo sapiens.

Scientists’ discoveryów carries yet another implication. Until now, it was thought that the cradle of humanity was East Africa. This is where the remains of Homo sapiens, considered to date to be the oldest, were found. The researchers’ work suggests that Homo sapiens lived róAt the same time, a number of sites in Africa.

– We need to modify theories about the origin of wspómankind. Until now, it was thought that the cradle of humanity was East Africa about 200,000 years ago, but our new data indicate that the Homo sapiens species spread across the African continent about 300,000 years ago – explained Hublin.

The view of the birthplace of humans in East Africa was challenged a few weeks ago by researchers from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen and scientists of theóin from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Their work indicates that the birthplace of man is not Africa, but Europe. For more on this topic, see the test: It was Europe that was the birthplace of man?