Neanderthal Ancestor Found in Africa: Strongest Candidate
Jakarta – A series of 773,000-year-old human fossils discovered in Morocco are believed to be the ancestors of Homo sapiens. Found at a site near Casablanca, these prehistoric specimens could help fill one of the most meaningful gaps in the human family tree, providing early African ancestors in the human lineage.
Genetic data indicates that Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans all diverged from a common ancestor approximately 765,000 to 550,000 years ago. However, scientists have yet to identify this ancestor.
Previously, the best candidate came from the gran Dolina cave in Spain, inhabited around 800,000 years ago by a species possessing an intriguing blend of features reminiscent of modern humans, Neanderthals, and archaic humans like Homo erectus. known as Homo antecessor, this ancient hominin has been recognized by some experts as the common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans, implying the split occurred somewhere in Eurasia, not Africa.
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Though, a problem with this theory is that all Homo sapiens fossils from before around 90,000 years ago originate from Africa, starting with the earliest known modern humans from jebel Irhoud in Morocco, dating back approximately 315,000 years. Sadly, until now, researchers have…