An international team of researchers, with the participation of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC), has analyzed the fossil remains of a large hominin from the early Pleistocene, found at the Ubeidiya site, Israel, in 2018. They are the oldest found to date in the Levante corridor area. The results of the study, published in Scientific Reportsindicate that the morphological differences of these remains with those of other hominins from the same period support the theory that the ancestors of Homo sapiens they left Africa in at least two dispersal events.
“At the beginning of the Pleistocene, the Levante Mediterranean region, due to its location between Africa and Eurasia, was an important transit area for the migrations of various animals, including hominins, ancestors of human beings”comments Markus Bastir, a researcher at the MNCN who is participating in the study.
Although there are several relevant sites in this area, hardly any hominin remains have been found from that time. In this study they analyzed the last hominin fossils found from this period, a vertebra at the Ubeidiya site, focusing on various aspects such as the individual’s age at death and other biological characteristics.
departure from africa
“The results show that the vertebra belonged to a large juvenile hominin that died between 6 and 12 years of age, with patterns of bone formation later than those of modern humans”explains the MNCN researcher.
“Furthermore, considerable differences were observed from other early Pleistocene human fossils found at the Dmanisi, Georgia site. These are the closest geographically to Ubeidiya but older, being 1.8 million years old and also related to more arid climatic conditions than those of Ubeidiya. This suggests that the hominins of both places would present different adaptations, as can be seen in the differences in body size and in the lithic industry used.”points out.
The fact that both remains were found in a passage region between Africa and Eurasia seems to indicate that the migration from one continent to another occurred in two dispersal events that were different in time and in ecological characteristics. The hominins found at the Dmanisi site moved first, and then those at Ubeidiya. “All these data provide information on how and when these expansion events, which are so important in the evolution of our species, took place”Bastir concludes.
Font: MNCN CSIC
Reference article: https://www.mncn.csic.es/es/Comunicaci%C3%B3n/la-salida-de-africa-de-los-antepasados-de-homo-sapiens-se-produjo-en-dos-eventos- of
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