Bone Find Could Change History
News of a the finding of a bone which challenges the theory that modern man originated in Africa
Most experts believe that our ancestors emerged in Africa more than 150,000 years ago and then migrated around the world.However, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Prof Erik Trinkaus and colleagues provide details of a skeleton found in 2003 from Tianyuan Cave near Beijing.
The skeleton is 42,000 to 38,500 years old, making it the oldest modern human skeleton from eastern Eurasia, and one of the oldest modern humans from the region.
Most of its features match those of modern man, though some are more like late archaic humans, including the Neanderthals. The authors conclude that, as our ancestors spread, they interbred with local, more ancient, types of human.
Interesting find that might - or might not - change our understanding of the development of humankind.
I expect the experts to be arguing about this for another 42,000 years at least ...
Tags: trinkaus, tianyuan, eurasia, modern man