As you read this story, you will learn the following:
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The Dmanisi Hominid archaeological site is home to the oldest hominid fossils in Europe, and many studies have attempted to classify these fossils to create a timeline to understand the distribution of species in the region.
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Two leading theories have emerged – one that two species lived at the site, the other that one species had strong sexual dimorphism – but a new study analyzed 538 teeth from the former.
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However, the study also found that some specimens contained dental morphology similar to that of Australopithecus , which predates Australopithecus . Homo erectuspossibly indicating that migration out of Africa occurred earlier than originally thought.
One of the most untold stories in human history is how and when our human ancestors first migrated from the African continent. To unravel the plot of this mysterious story, scientists traveled to the West Asian country of Georgia, where the Dmanisi Hominid archaeological site southwest of Tbilisi contains the oldest known hominid fossils in Europe (a claim for the transcontinental country is disputed, but generally accepted). The fossil dates to about 1.8 million years ago, which puts it in a lineage of fossils that dates back about 200,000 years. Homo erectusare generally considered to be the first hominid species to migrate to Europe and Asia.
It was here that archaeologists initially discovered a mixture of animal fossils, stone tools and (most importantly) primitive human remains, but guessing at the stories these artifacts told has been decades of work. In 2000, scientists theorized that differences in the size and shape of the specimens suggested that two species of humans had once inhabited the area, possibly ancient versions of the species. Homo erectus. Other theories suggest that the diversity present in the remains is the result of sexual dimorphism, a phenomenon in which males and females of the same species exhibit different characteristics.
To explore this question further, scientists from the University of St. Paul and The Ohio State University examined the crown regions of these specimens in an attempt to understand their evolutionary lineage. The team analyzed 1 upper jaw sample and 71 lower jaw samples (583 teeth in total) using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), a machine learning technique that aids in classification. They found that sexual dimorphism alone could not explain the differences between specimens, and that it was likely that at least two species Homo Live at the location. Research results published in journal PLOS One.
“We conclude that the differences in canopy size support the hypothesis of the coexistence of two different taxa at the Dmanisi site, previously proposed Georgian and Caucasian,} the author writes. “This proposal has important implications for the early Pleistocene dispersal of Homo from Africa.”
However, as one problem is solved, new ones arise. The most puzzling of these new puzzles is that some samples appear to indicate that the tooth’s morphology Georgian species Very similar to Australopithecus predating humans Homo bloodline. This raises the question: did early migration out of Africa occur forward arrival Homo erectus.
“Based on the available evidence, it is impossible to correctly assess whether Georgian and Caucasian evolved from Homo erectus The authors write, “But alternatives are worth exploring and considering, as new early Homo The fossil was found in Asia. “
In other words, the story is probably Homo erectus Developing advanced cognitive abilities and bipedalism is the only way for species to adapt to new environments part The process of human migration out of Africa. Events of cladogenesis (the splitting of one species into two) may punctuate the human story, as certain populations developed distinct characteristics while isolated from each other over thousands or tens of thousands of years. Ultimately, the authors concluded that our models of human migration need updating.
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