Million-year-old skull rewrites human evolution, scientists claim
17 hours ago
- #Human Evolution
- #Paleoanthropology
- #Fossil Discovery
- A million-year-old human skull found in China suggests Homo sapiens emerged at least half a million years earlier than previously thought.
- The skull, named Yunxian 2, was initially thought to belong to Homo erectus but is now considered an early version of Homo longi, a sister species to Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
- The discovery implies that Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Homo longi coexisted for around 800,000 years, much longer than previously believed.
- The analysis challenges the timeline of human evolution, pushing back the emergence of large-brained humans by at least half a million years.
- The skull was reconstructed using computer modeling and 3D printing, revealing its true classification as a more advanced human group.
- Some experts remain cautious, citing uncertainties in dating methods and the need for more evidence, including genetic data, to confirm the findings.
- The discovery helps explain previously hard-to-classify human fossils from 800,000 to 100,000 years ago, referred to as the 'muddle in the middle.'
- The research suggests human evolution involved multiple branches with interbreeding and coexistence over nearly a million years.