Oldest Modern Human Outside of Africa Found: Chinese fossil challenges early-human time line

A fossil human jawbone discovered in southern China is upsetting conventional notions of when our ancestors migrated out of Africa.

The mandible, unearthed by paleontologists in China's Zhiren Cave in 2007, sports a distinctly modern feature: a prominent chin. But the bone is undeniably 60,000 years older than the next oldest Homo sapiens remains in China, scientists say. In fact, at about a hundred thousand years old, the Chinese fossil is "the oldest modern human outside of Africa," said study co-author Erik Trinkaus, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/08902d63ed1c.jpg[/atsimg]
Several views of a human jawbone and molars found in a Chinese cave

Finding such an ancient example of a modern human in China would drastically alter the time line of human migration. The find may also mean that modern humans in China were mingling—and possibly even interbreeding—with other human species for 50,000 or 60,000 years.

What's more, the find seems to suggest that anatomically modern humans had arrived in China long before the species began acting human.
Source: news.nationalgeographic.com...

Well, that is an eye opener. I think the more we learn about the past the more impressed we will become. I am beginning to think (believe) there were at least 5 (maybe 6) races here before us-the current race. I feel we just have dug deep enough or the eveidence that was there is now gone. At least here on Earth. I hope we find evidence in space that early humans left this planet and moved outwards.

My home anyway. Heck, maybe Earth is just a small note in the history of Humans & Space. Time will tell.

However, a chin does not a modern human make.

They'll get all the early timeline straight, eventually.

But it's gonna take more than just chins to do this.

Harte

Originally posted by Harte
However, a chin does not a modern human make.

Are you serious?
Try telling that to a forensics scientist.
Did you take Anthropology or Anatomy in high school?
I can tell a Homo erectus mandible apart from a Gorrilla's or Modern Human's for sure, that is easy, no DNA testing required, and that's a skill I picked up from just one class.

I'm not saying I'm an expert in this subject or anything, but I can assure you, this is a HUGE find that WILL change everything of how we view our origins, and this discovery WILL rewrite our text books.

Well, it could be a single wanderer. I'd be shocked if people didn't get exiled and wander all over the globe even back then. It could also have been transplanted there somehow at some point, though that seems pretty unlikely.

A downright fascinating find, no matter the ultimate explanation.

Originally posted by leira7

Originally posted by Harte
However, a chin does not a modern human make.

Are you serious?
Try telling that to a forensics scientist.
Did you take Anthropology or Anatomy in high school?
I can tell a Homo erectus mandible apart from a Gorrilla's or Modern Human's for sure, that is easy, no DNA testing required, and that's a skill I picked up from just one class.

I'm not saying I'm an expert in this subject or anything, but I can assure you, this is a HUGE find that WILL change everything of how we view our origins, and this discovery WILL rewrite our text books.

Please.

I've seen a lot of "HUGE" finds go out the window when vetted.

I agree that it's easy to tell an Erectus chin from that of a modern human.

However, given genetic variation, it is not so easy to tell a modern human's chin from that of an archaic human.

This discovery may rewrite a few footnotes in a few texts, but only with corroborating evidence.

Harte

reply to post by Harte



you got my interest. How do you think they can confirm this stuff?

Please excuse, I am a novice in this field.

Are you saying great find but nothing without supporting evidence? Are you saying the China folks can't be trusted?

Originally posted by anon72
reply to post by Harte

 

you got my interest. How do you think they can confirm this stuff?

Please excuse, I am a novice in this field.

Are you saying great find but nothing without supporting evidence? Are you saying the China folks can't be trusted?

Typically, theories or hypothesies are supported by other finds.

While this might take a while, it is extremely unlikely that this one individual is the only such creature to arrive in East Asia during that time frame, so further finds should follow.

If the remains are that of a modern human, other artifacts should be there somewhere that differentiate this person from archaic humans, such as more developed tools, etc.

And, no, I'm not casting any aspersions on any paleontologist/archaeologist. Chinese or otherwise.

Harte