Fossils in Greece Suggest Human Ancestors Evolved in Europe, Not Africa

This precocious mandible was recovered successful Nikiti successful bluish Greece. Credit: New Scientist/David Begun

A caller investigation of fossils recovered successful the 1990s successful the colony of Nikiti successful bluish Greece supports the arguable thought that apes, the ancestors of humans, evolved successful Southeastern Europe alternatively of Africa.

The 8 oregon 9-million-year-old fossils had archetypal been linked to the extinct ape called Ouranopithecus.

However, a squad led by David Begun from the University of Toronto’s Department of Anthropology has precocious analyzed the remains and determined that they apt belonged to a antheral carnal from a perchance caller species.

By inspecting the precocious and little jaw of the past European ape, the squad suggested that humanity’s forebears whitethorn person evolved successful Europe earlier migrating to Africa, perchance upending a technological statement that has stood since Darwin’s day.

In 1871, Darwin projected that each hominins, including some modern and extinct humans, descended from a radical successful Africa. This is the astir wide accepted mentation today.

Fossils successful Greece beryllium to quality ancestors

On the different hand, Darwin besides speculated that hominins could besides person originated successful Europe, wherever fossils of ample apes had already been discovered. The caller investigation supports this theory.

While Begun does not judge the ape successful Greece was a hominin, helium speculates that it could correspond the radical from which hominins straight evolved.

The probe squad led by Begun had determined successful 2017 that a 7.2-million-year-old ape called Graecopithecus, which besides lived successful what is present Greece, could beryllium a hominin.

In this case, the 8-million to 9-million-year-old Nikiti ape would person straight preceded the archetypal hominin, Graecopithecus, earlier hominins migrated to Africa 7 cardinal years ago.

According to a study successful the diary New Scientist, Begun foresees that this caller conception volition beryllium rejected by galore experts who judge successful African hominin origins, but helium hopes that the caller script volition astatine slightest beryllium considered.

Begun points retired that Southeastern Europe was erstwhile occupied by the ancestors of animals specified arsenic the giraffe and rhino. “It’s wide agreed that this was the recovered fauna of astir of what we spot successful Africa today,” helium told New Scientist. “If the antelopes and giraffes could get into Africa 7 cardinal years ago, wherefore not the apes?”

Not each anthropologists hold with Begun and his team’s conclusions. As noted by New Scientist, the Nikiti ape whitethorn beryllium wholly unrelated to hominins. It whitethorn person evolved akin features independently, processing teeth to devour akin foods oregon chew likewise to aboriginal hominins.

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