Home / Science / Africa Birthplace of Humanity: New Fossils Rewrite History
Africa Birthplace of Humanity: New Fossils Rewrite History
7 Jan
Summary
- Fossils in Morocco, dated over 773,000 years old, support Africa as human origin.
- Oldest Homo sapiens fossils previously found were over 300,000 years old.
- Dating by Earth's magnetic field reversal precisely aged Moroccan fossils.
Fossil discoveries unearthed in Morocco, dating back more than 773,000 years, provide compelling evidence for Africa as the original birthplace of Homo sapiens. This finding addresses a long-standing gap in the fossil record concerning human origins on the continent.
The precise age of these fossils, found in Casablanca, was determined by examining a geological event: the reversal of Earth's magnetic field approximately 773,000 years ago. This new evidence challenges previous assumptions about human evolution, which were based on older fossils found elsewhere.
These fossils, exhibiting a mix of ancient and modern human-like features, suggest that Africa was not only the origin of Homo sapiens but also potentially the origin of the last common ancestor shared with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
