What if our conception of human history is completely flawed? Here are the latest discoveries in China and so on Israel. Explanation.
Our closest cousin
Homo Abilis. Homo erectus. CRO Magnon man. Neanderthal Man. Homo sapiens. Since we were children, we have heard and learned the names of our ancestors. The lineage of the human species is, to say the least, interesting, which throws us back several million years. While prehistoric human figures are still fascinating (convinced enough to contemplate the emotions evoked by each of our ancestral painting discoveries and the success of the Lascaux caves), recent discoveries have really disturbed our perception of our history.
Indeed, while Homo sapiens’ closest cousin is often seen in Neanderthal Man, it seems that other members of the genus Homo could claim this place. According to the research team, a prehistoric human skull found in China named the Herbin Skull, which is said to be 146,000 years old (Middle Pleistocene Period), are our immediate family members:
The Herbin group is more closely related to Homo Sapiens than the Neanderthals.
The name of this new species Homo? Homo Longi, “Dragon Man”. Chris Stringer, one of the anthropologists who co-authored the June 25 study at Innovation, spoke to AFP and explained what this important discovery means:
This means that Harbins share a more recent ancestor with us than the Neanderthals.
Herbin’s skull is discovered in 1933, by a man involved in bridge construction, under Japanese occupation. To prevent China from robbing his invention by the occupying army, he would hide the skull in a well. In 2018, his descendants donated Herbi’s skull to Hebei University GEO.
Skull will be the family namea man around fifty years old, tall and strong, especially adapted to the intense cold he had to get in the region where he was found. According to the study authors, many other specimens found in Asia may include this new species. Therefore scientists believe that at least three generations (Homo Sapiens, Neanderthals, Homo Longi) lived on earth simultaneously. They also assumed thatHomo Sapiens and Homo Longi can meet. More research needs to be done to better understand who Homo Longi is.
Source population found in Israel
Another equally important discovery was made in Israel by a team of anthropologists from Tel Aviv University and archaeologists from the University of Jerusalem: human remains of members of a new species of the genus Homo, called Homo by Nesher Ramla. Scientists explain it menjelaskan his jaw and teeth elements brought him closer to Neanderthals, more than some specific features of its skull are related to earlier Homo species.
A disturbing discovery to say the least, because contrary to what we think Neanderthals. Indeed, if a species has been discovered in the Near East that made the transition between the earlier species of the genus Homo and Neanderthals, then that would mean that, contrary to what we thought until now, Neanderthal ancestors appeared in the Near East, not Europe. In addition, the study scientists took into account Homo Nesher Ramla would be the “source” of the population from which Pleistocene humans would develop.
However, this hypothesis has not been confirmed. Indeed, Nesher Ramla’s DNA has not been found. But paleoanthropologists seem hopeful as they consider it another specimen found in the Near East region may belong to the species Homo Nesher Ramla. So let’s keep an eye on the discoveries to come.
