The story of the evolution of modern humans can be a bit confusing, species-wise, with many early hominins co-existing without an obvious linear succession. But, geographically, all the action has appeared to take place in Africa, at least until the appearance of Homo erectus, which left Africa and spread globally, only to be replaced by later species of African origin: us. Over the past year or so, however, our history has become a bit more complicated, with evidence that our ancestors interbred with earlier human relatives that had already dispersed throughout Asia. Now, earlier events are also looking a bit more confused, as archeological finds in the nation of Georgia are being promoted as evidence that Homo erectus didn't even get its start in Africa.
The site of the new finds, Dmanisi, is only about 50km away from Georgia's capital Tblisi, and has been making waves in the field of human origins for a while. Skeletons uncovered there date from about 1.75 million years ago, and are a confused mix of features that place them right near the base of the Homo genus. These include very ancestral skulls and upper bodies, but lower bodies and legs that appear far more modern. A number of features in these skeletons are shared with various other early Homo skeletons, including ergaster, habilis, and erectus. Confusing matters further, the skeletons were extremely small relative to the Homo erectus individuals that later spread throughout the globe—these make their first unambiguous appearance in Africa right about this time.
There have been a number of responses to these findings. The least disruptive is that these just represent a very early form of Homo erectus, and provide an indication that the species was very mobile right from its start. In this view, the Dmanisi individuals represent a side-branch that was later swamped when their larger cousins appeared on the scene. Others have placed these individuals in their own species, Homo georgicus, without necessarily clarifying its relationship to other contemporary hominins.
But the most radical interpretation has been that, if the Dmanisi skeletons look like the earliest form of Homo erectus, that's simply because they are. In this scenario, the species originated in Asia, and evolved its larger form there before going mobile, eventually returning to the Africa that its more distant ancestors left. In this view, the Dmanisi skeletons go from being a side show in the drama of human evolution to a starring role in the main show.
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http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/06/homo-species-appear-to-have-been-in-asia-very-early.arsThis new find is gonna open a can of worms that will take years to sort out.. I saw this BBC documentary, which was really good
BTW, that the Chinese had made this claim.
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