The 85,000-year-old human phalanx fossils unearthed in the desert of Saudi Arabia show that the route of early humans from Africa is completely different from previous speculation. The researchers said that a new study found that,
This discovery is the oldest human fossil unearthed outside Africa and the Levant (the eastern Mediterranean region including Israel) and the oldest human remains found in Saudi Arabia. Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist and senior researcher at Max Planck Institute of Human History Science, said that so far, many scientists believe that early humans left Africa about 60,000 years ago, then embraced the coastline and made a living from marine resources.
"But now, a phalanx fossil dating from 85,000 to 90,000 years ago has been found in Al-Wusta site in Saudi Arabia, which shows that Homo sapiens left Africa 60,000 years ago," Petraglia told reporters at a news conference, which supported a model, which was not a rapid spread from Africa 60,000 years ago, but a more complicated migration scene.
In Aosta, Saudi Arabia, archaeologists discovered the finger fossils of Homo sapiens there. The sand dunes in the Naiford Desert surround the ancient lake bed (white). There is no doubt that Iyad Zalmout20 1.3 inch (3.2 cm) long finger fossil was discovered in the Nefford Desert in 20 16, said Huw Groucut, head of the research, a paleontologist of the Saudi Geological Survey and a researcher of human "KDSP", and an archaeologist of Oxford University in the UK. Basically visually, it belongs to Homo sapiens. He said that this is because compared with Neanderthals who are still alive, human fingers are long and thin. However, the researchers asked their colleagues to do a computed tomography (CT) to make sure.
After comparing the CT scan results of newly discovered fossils with several other species with human fingers, these species include gorillas, Old World monkeys, australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus and Neanderthals. The researchers determined that this was a human-probably the middle part of the human middle finger, they said.
"All these studies believe that this fossil belongs to Homo sapiens," Grukat said at a news conference. Homo sapiens phalanges are very different in shape from other species.
He added that the phalanges may belong to an adult, but it is not clear whether this person is male or female. In addition, Grukot said that because the bone has been mineralized into fossils and has lived in a dry environment for thousands of years, it may not leave any DNA.
Hippopotamus and stone tool Al Osta may be deserts now, but about 85,000 years ago, there was a freshwater lake frequented by many animals, including hippopotamus, Pelopoulos (now extinct bison) and Cobbs (African antelope), and their fossil remains were found in the site. In addition, researchers also found artificial stone tools there.
But why are these African animals * * * at this time? Petraglia said that monsoon rains may attract these animals from sub-Saharan Africa to * *, thus turning the region into a humid and semi-arid grassland crisscrossed by rivers and lakes. [In the picture: the ancient lake is dotted with "green * * *"]
"Of course, hunters and gatherers will follow these animals," Petraglia said.
In fact, the remains of other ancient lakes in the Nefd desert may be. Researchers say there is more evidence that early Homo sapiens may have tracked large wild animals in Africa.
"We are one of two ongoing projects of * * *", but satellite images show that there are about 65,438+00,000 ancient lakes in this area, Petraglia said.
A dark cloud hovers overhead, and archaeologists are investigating and mapping the site of Al-Aosta. The new discovery of going out of Africa is one of many discoveries that help scientists map the journey of early humans out of Africa. In June 5438+10, another group of researchers announced the discovery of a modern human mandible194,000 years ago in Misria cave, Israel, which was previously reported in Life Science.
However, although the phalanx is much younger than the mandible, it is still an important discovery. Grukat said:
"Humans are constantly expanding into the Levant and entering the door of Africa, but we don't know what happened outside that area." . At that time, the Levant was a forest area with winter rainfall, while Al-Aosta, 400 miles (650 kilometers) away, was a grassland that received summer rainfall. Researchers say that if ancient humans can leave one environment to another, then their adaptability must be quite strong.
In addition, the researchers also said that the age of fossil fingers is consistent with other archaeological evidences of ancient humans found outside Africa, including 70, and homo sapiens fossils dating back to 1000 years were found on Tampa ridge in Laos; 68,000-year-old teeth of Homo sapiens were found in Lida Ajie Cave, Sumatra Island. Homo sapiens teeth 80,000 years ago were found in Fu Yandong, China. 65,000-year-old human fossils were found in Australia.
This discovery is the first conclusive evidence. Grukat said in a statement: "Members of our species have settled in a vast area of southwest Asia, not just in the Levant." These early people were able to colonize this area extensively, which made people doubt the long-held view that the early spread from Africa was one-sided and unsuccessful.
The study was published online today (April 9) in the journal Nature, Ecology and Evolution.
Original articles on life sciences.