Million-year-old skull hints at earlier human origins
A million-year-old skull reanalysis suggests Homo sapiens may have originated earlier and outside Africa.
Why it matters
- Could change our understanding of human evolution.
- Suggests a more complex and earlier split among human ancestors.
By the numbers
- Skull age: 1 million years old.
- Potential doubling of Homo sapiens' origin time.
- Computational analysis suggests 5 major branches of human evolution in the last 800,000 years.
The big picture
- The skull was reclassified from Homo erectus to Homo longi, linked to Denisovans.
- This could mean the common ancestor lived in western Asia, not Africa.
What they're saying
- Scientists: This could radically revise our understanding of human evolution.
- Commenters: Questions about how this fits with DNA evidence and existing theories.
Caveats
- Findings might be contentious and need further fossil and genetic evidence.
What’s next
- More research and evidence needed to confirm these findings.