Dental remains dating back 300,000 years, which were discovered at a well-known Chinese archaeological site, have revealed surprising information about human breeding practices, according to a new study published in the Journal of Human Evolution.
What did the study find?
Researchers say the groundbreaking discovery, which was the result of a decade-long international collaboration between Beijing’s Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and Spain’s Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, represents something which has “never [been] seen before” on the fossil record.
The teeth combine archaic features often found in Homo erectus, like strong molar and premolar roots which are characteristic of Middle Pleistocene hominins, with more advanced traits present in Homo sapiens, like smooth buccal surfaces and occlusal outlines. This suggests that human evolution in Asia was much more complicated than previously thought, with humans interbreeding with Homo erectus.
What Are the Experts Saying?
“It’s a mosaic of primitive and derived traits never seen before – almost as if the evolutionary clock were ticking at different speeds in different parts of the body,” explained María Martinón-Torres, the study’s co-author. The evidence suggests that modern Homo sapiens were in Asia up to 300,000 years ago, which is much earlier than previously thought. Paleobiologist José María Bermúdez de Castro explained that “the Hualongdong discovery reminds us that human evolution was neither linear nor uniform, and that Asia hosted multiple evolutionary experiments with unique anatomical outcomes.”
The dental remains share many similarities with the teeth of Late Pleistocene hominins, indicating that modern human traits began emerging in Asia long before Homo erectus spread across the globe. Scientists will next conduct additional experimentation to determine the precise evolutionary position and identity of the species to which the teeth belong.
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