Latest news with #Homosapien
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
First Neanderthal–Homo Sapiens hybrid? CT scan reveals unusual features in 140,000 yr-old child skull: Study
Study reveals unusual features in a 140,000 yr-old child skull (Representative AI image) A 140,000-year-old skull found in Israel may belong to a child born to a Neanderthal and a Homo sapien, according to a new anatomical research. The remains of a 5-year-old girl was discovered in 1929 in Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel, along with the remains of seven adults, three children, and bones from 16 hominins. All were initially classified as Homo sapiens but the child's skull long puzzled researchers due to its unusual jaw, which differed from typical Homo sapiens mandibles. A recent study by resaercher Anne Dambricourt Malassé from the Institute of Human Paleontology in France used CT scans to re-examine the skull and the findings were published in L'Anthropologie journal. The team found that while the skull's structure aligned with Homo sapiens, the jaw displayed Neanderthal traits. This combination suggests the child may have been a hybrid. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 뇌혈관 뻥~ 뚫려! 3대 질환까지 싹... '카이스트 Rg3.' 특가 시작. 중년건강 꿀팁 더 알아보기 Undo Malassé said the findings challenge previous assumptions and without DNA analysis, the hybrid theory remains unconfirmed. Researchers noted that human populations have naturally varied appearances and that some features may not necessarily indicate hybridisation. Genetic studies have previously shown that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred multiple times over the past 200,000 years. Researchers believe the Levant region, where the Skhul Cave is located, served as a key migration and interaction zone between hominin species due to its geographical position connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. Malassé added that grave could reflect traditions burial practices between Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, or both. 'We do not know who buried this child,' she said, 'whether it was one community, or several groups from different lineages who coexisted, established contact, or even shared rites and emotions.'
Wales Online
30-04-2025
- Science
- Wales Online
BBC will showcase 'mind-boggling' truth about humanity in huge TV first
BBC will showcase 'mind-boggling' truth about humanity in huge TV first Evidence of a bombshell discovery about Homo sapiens is set to be shown on TV for the first time this summer Paleoanthropologist presenter Ella Al-Shamahi travels to a dig in Morocco for her upcoming BBC2 series Human (Image: BBC ) Groundbreaking evidence that proves a "mind-boggling" fact about humanity will be revealed on television for the first time this summer. The new discovery means Homo sapiens have been on earth for 300,000 years - a whole 100,000 years longer than previously believed. The astonishing revelation comes from paleoanthropologist presenter Ella Al-Shamahi during her upcoming BBC Two series Human. In the programme, she discusses how advancements in DNA technology have aided experts in dating this extraordinary new fossil evidence. Ella said: "With each new find the evidence grew - these were not some other species but Homo sapiens, with hints of an earlier ancestor. "It wasn't until archaeologists were able to more accurately date the remains that the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. That is mind-boggling, because we thought our species was only about 200,000 years old. Ella presents the skull, representing a huge scientific discovery (Image: BBC ) Article continues below "What these fossils tell us is that our species, Homo sapiens, is 100,000 years older than we thought. We are a third older than we realised." During the show, Ella is seen holding a skull. She explained: "This fossil went from being enigmatic to being one of the most important fossils in our whole field." At a BBC Science event this week, she revealed that these discoveries came after "a revolution in ancient DNA" over the past decade. She added: "There's been lots of breakthroughs - we think we've found a second hobbit species - and this fantastical world hasn't really been put on television in that time." The upcoming series, set to air this summer, challenges the traditional view that humanity originated solely from east Africa, reports the Mirror. Ella is one of the BBC's forefront science presenters, having worked on season 2 of Our Changing Planet with Ade Adepitan, Gordon Buchanan, Chris Packham, Steve Backshall and Liz Bonni (Image: BBC/PA Wire ) Ella continued: "This is in Morocco. They date it and realise it's on the journey to become Homo sapien - when you look at it, its face looks Homo sapien but its brain-case doesn't. "So what it suggests is that it wasn't east Africa that was the cradle of civilisation, it was the whole of Africa that was the mothership - and that these populations were interacting. They call it the pan-Africa theory and it's absolutely fascinating and very new, so it felt like just the right time to be doing this series." Jack Bootle, the BBC's head of factual, confirmed: "To a general viewer that is all new - we've certainly never put it in a British science show before." The five-episode series explores why we are the sole surviving human species, despite evidence of numerous others. Combining archaeology, travelogue, and reconstructions, the series depicts Ella delving into the disappearance of other human species, leaving us as the prime species on Earth. Article continues below Humans will be released on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this summer.
Daily Mirror
29-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mirror
BBC to mark major TV first with new show's 'mind-boggling' historical discovery
BBC Two's upcoming five-part science show Human will reveal the 'mind-boggling' evidence which proves that the human race is actually a third older than we thought 'Mind-boggling' evidence which proves Homo sapiens have roamed the earth for 300,000 years - rather than the previously believed 200,000 - is to be shown on TV for the first time. The bombshell news is delivered by paleoanthropologist presenter Ella Al-Shamahi, who travels to a dig in Morocco for her upcoming BBC2 series Human. In the show, she explains how breakthroughs in DNA technology have helped expert to date the remarkable new fossil evidence. 'With each new find the evidence grew - these were not some other species but Homo sapiens, with hints of an earlier ancestor. It wasn't until archaeologists were able to more accurately date the remains that the final piece of the puzzle fell into place. 'That is mind-boggling, because we thought our species was only about 200,000 years old. What these fossils tell us is that our species, Homo sapiens, is 100,000 years older than we thought. We are a third older than we realised.' In the show Ella is shown holding a skull, to explain: 'This fossil went from being enigmatic to being one of the most important fossils in our whole field.' Speaking at a BBC Science event this week, she said the finds had come after 'a revolution in ancient DNA' in the past decade or so. 'There's been lots of breakthroughs - we think we've found a second hobbit species - and this fantastical world hasn't really been put on television in that time.' The series, which airs later this summer, also pushes back on the idea that humanity started in east Africa. 'This is in Morocco. They date it and realise it's on the journey to become Homo sapien - when you look at it, its face looks Homo sapien but it's brain-case doesn't. So what it suggests is that it wasn't east Africa that was the cradle of civilisation, it was the whole of Africa that was the mothership - and that these populations were interacting. "They call it the pan-Africa theory and it's absolutely fascinating and very new, so it felt like just the right time to be doing this series.' BBC factual boss Jack Bootle agreed: 'To a general viewer that is all new - we've certainly never put it in a British science show before.' The five-parter looks at how we are the only remaining human species left, despite remains of many more having been discovered. Using a combination of archaeology, travelogue and reconstruction to tell the story of modern humans, Ella questions what happened to the ones which no longer exist - leaving us to become the most dominant species on the planet.
NBC News
12-03-2025
- Science
- NBC News
Fossilized face fragments are oldest human ancestor remains ever found in Western Europe
In a cave in northern Spain, researchers have discovered pieces of a fossilized face belonging to an ancient human ancestor — the oldest human fossil ever found in Western Europe. The remains, which the team nicknamed 'Pink,' are between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old. But they're mysterious: The facial fragments do not seem to come from any species found in the same area in the past, nor can they be conclusively identified as any particular species. 'We are documenting a previously unknown human population in Europe,' said María Martinón-Torres, a co-author of the study and a paleoanthropologist at the Spanish National Research Center for Human Evolution, said in a call with reporters. 'This fossil represents the earliest human fossil found so far in Western Europe.' The fragment, discovered in 2022, was first reported in the journal Nature on Wednesday with new details. The researchers tentatively suggested that Pink is likely related to the human ancestor Homo erectus. (The fossil was named, in part, for the band Pink Floyd, and also after Rosa Huguet, the study's primary author and the coordinator of the archaeological site where it was found.) The finding is significant because it gives researchers a better timeline of when Western Europe was first settled by human ancestors. It could also help bridge a gap in evolutionary space between the oldest known human ancestor fossils found in Europe — which are roughly 1.8 million years old and were discovered at a site in the Republic of Georgia called Dmanisi — and a species called Homo antecessor, which dates back roughly 900,000 years. 'It's not like the Dmanisi fossils, which are older, and it's not like the younger Homo sapien -like anatomy of Homo antecessor. It's something in between,' said Rodrigo Lacruz, a professor of molecular pathobiology at New York University, who was not involved in the new discovery but has studied the evolution of the human face. The discovery may therefore help researchers better understand the story of early human evolution and migration in Europe. 'We can start piecing together what that population could have looked like, and that's a great value, because you start seeing how anatomy changes over time,' Lacruz said. The team that discovered Pink said the fossil is from an adult, but they are not sure whether male or female. Pink was found about 60 feet below the top layer of sedimentary rock, at a cave within the Sierra de Atapuerca archaeological site, which is known for the rich historical record in its rock layers. Within the same sedimentary level as Pink, researchers found stone tools and animal bones with marks made by cutting, which suggests that these early ancestors butchered animals for meat. Evidence suggests that human ancestors settled Europe in multiple waves, but that most of those populations subsequently contracted and died out. The fossil record is discontinuous at the Atapuerca site and in Western Europe as a whole, indicating that there were likely long periods without human presence. The study posits that the species Pink belonged to could have overlapped briefly with Homo antecessor. It's also possible the species was wiped out during a climactic shift that started about 1.1 million years ago and has only recently been identified by researchers. Chris Stringer, a professor and research leader on human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, who was not involved in the discovery of Pink, said the climate event 'may have caused a major and perhaps complete human depopulation of western Europe.' The cave where Pink was discovered, called Sima del Elefante, or elephant chasm, has produced compelling fossils before. In 2007, researchers found a small piece of jawbone that is believed to be about 1.2 million years old, which appears to be closely related to Pink. Pink was found about 6 feet deeper than that fossil, though, which makes scientists believe it's older. Martinón-Torres said the researchers were shocked to find a new, important fossil even deeper. Her first reaction to the discovery, she said, was: 'Am I really dreaming?' The region's impressive collection of fossils likely has to do with its geography. 'Atapuerca was a natural corridor between different mountain systems,' Martinón-Torres said, adding that there was ample water. 'It was probably a place that was ideal for hominins to settle. They have the resources, they have the animals passing by.' Scientists are still digging at the archaeological site. 'We're going to keep excavating,' Martinón-Torres said. 'We may have more surprises.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists pinpoint age of suspected human-Neanderthal hybrid child
Advanced radiocarbon dating has provided the most accurate age assessment yet for the 'Lapedo Child,' one of the most provocative prehistoric human skeletons ever discovered. But the results of this study published March 7 in the journal Science Advances aren't likely to settle an ongoing debate in the paleoarcheological community. In 1998, researchers exploring the Lapedo Valley in central Portugal came across an unexpected find: a rock shelter situated at a cliffbase containing an ancient child's nearly intact, ochre-stained skeleton along with items such as pierced shells and animal bones possibly used in a burial ritual. The team excavated and transported the bones to a lab, where they later determined the remains belonged to a roughly 4-year-old juvenile who lived approximately 24,500 years ago. Further analysis revealed that the prehistoric 'Lapedo Child' displayed a unique blend of physical characteristics that would soon make them famous: a mixture of both human and Neanderthal features suggesting a 'hybrid' between the two evolutionary relatives. For example, the child's lower limbs were much shorter than those of a modern human, and more resembled a Neanderthal. The skull, however, almost fully mirrored a Homo sapien, particularly the teeth and inner ears. At the same time, a pitted occipital region again recalled Neanderthals. While interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals is documented in our species' genealogical history, there was a problem: Neanderthals largely went extinct about 40,000 years ago–about 20,000 years before this child lived. While pockets of the genus lingered to intermingle with humans for thousands of years, the Lapedo Child's approximate age made direct interbredding hard to believe for some paleoarcheologists. The two sides have gone back and forth over the implications for decades. One camp argues the Lapedo Child is the progeny of human and Neanderthal parents, while the other faction contends they simply display genetic traits inherited from interbreeding further back in their family tree. Scientists previously tried to more precisely estimate the Lapedo Child's age using radiocarbon dating methods four times, but failed each attempt. Now, over 25 years after the discovery, a team including some of the Lapedo Child's original locators has managed to lock in a precise date range. They believe that the Lapedo Child lived somewhere between 27,780–28,850 years ago. The breakthrough is thanks to a new method known as hydroxyporline dating. This approach focuses on specific amino acids, while also removing more contaminants than standard dating options can. Researchers also used hydroxyporline dating on some of the burial site's animal bone samples that included rabbit, horse, and red deer. While this latest chapter in the Lapedo Child's saga doesn't necessarily confirm or deny their parentage, additional evidence uncovered in the years since the initial discovery certainly lends additional credence to the hybridization theory. Regardless, the new dating techniques offer a more concrete context for Lapedo Child's time period, as well as the Paleolithic community that buried them. Researchers also believe hydroxyporline dating will soon help paleoarcheologists learn much more about humanity's evolutionary past. 'The direct date for the Lapedo Child demonstrates that this compound-specific radiocarbon dating method can also be applied to poorly preserved samples that would otherwise fail routine pretreatment methods,' the authors wrote in their study, suggesting 'other morphologically and culturally important Paleolithic human remains' like those at Mladeč Caves in the Czech Republic, as well as France's Abri Pataud and Saint Césaire sites.
