2017618 OldFossilsGiveHumansNewHistory

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

Old Fossils Give Humans New History

2 hours ago

Scientists have found new evidence that Homo sapiens, or humans, have been
around longer than we thought.

Bones found at a site called Jebel Irhoud in Morocco are 300,000 years old. at
is about 100,000 years older than any other known remains of our species. ey
were discovered far from where the oldest fossils had been found before in
Ethiopia.

Scientists decided that skulls, limb bones and teeth they found represent at least
ve individuals. ey show people from an early stage of our species'
development. ey are a mix of modern and more ancient, or simpler, humans.

Jean-Jacques Hublin works at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary

Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and the College of France in Paris. He and
others described the new ndings in two papers released last week by the
journal Nature.

ey are not just like us, said Hublin. But they had basically the face you could
meet on the train in New York.

While their face and teeth might look like todays humans, these fossils show a
dierent shaped brain. eir braincasesthe part of the skull that contains the

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scienceinthenewsoldfossils/3898919.html 1/4
2017618 OldFossilsGiveHumansNewHistory

brainwere longer. at means it took time for our brains to evolve to their
present form.

Given their modern-looking face and teeth, Hublin said these people may have
blended in today if they wore a hat.

Hublin said that along with other evidence, the Moroccan fossils suggest that
humans may have reached their modern-day form in more than one place
within Africa.

"e message we would like to convey is that our species is much older than we
thought, Hublin said. He added it did not come from just one place, a small
'Garden of Eden' somewhere in East Africa. Instead, Hublin said, it was a
process that moved across Africa, and is more complex than what was believed
before."

e Moroccan fossils were found between 2007 and 2011, in what was a cave
setting. ey represent three adults, one adolescent and one child about 8 years
old. It was thought that they lived a hunter-gatherer lifestylemeaning they
hunted or gathered their food, instead of farming.

ey were found alongside bones of animals they huntedgazelles and zebras.

ere were also stone tools, possibly used as spearheads for hunting and knives.
e tools were made from int, a kind of stone, from about 40 kilometers away.
Researchers also found evidence of much re use.

Today, Homo sapiens are the only human species. But 300,000 years ago, they
would have lived on Earth with several now-extinct relatives in Eurasia. ese
included Neanderthals in the west and Denisovans in the east, and others in
Africa.

Even with the discovery, Hublin believes there is an earlier stage of human
ancestor that would have walked on Earth before this group from Morocco.

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scienceinthenewsoldfossils/3898919.html 2/4
2017618 OldFossilsGiveHumansNewHistory

Im Anne Ball.

Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English with information from Reuters
and the Associated Press. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you.
Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Now, test your understanding with this short quiz.

______________________________________________________________
Words in is Story

fossil n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or

animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks

skull n. the structure of bones that form the head and face of a person or
animal

limb n. a leg or an arm

convey v. to make (something) known to someone

Garden of Eden n. in the Bible: the garden where Adam and Eve rst lived

spearhead n. the sharp point on a weapon with a long straight handle

ancestor n. something in the past from which something else has developed

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scienceinthenewsoldfossils/3898919.html 3/4
2017618 OldFossilsGiveHumansNewHistory

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/scienceinthenewsoldfossils/3898919.html 4/4