Jebel Irhoud
Adrar n Iɣud / ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵉⵖⵓⴷ | |
Homo sapiens | |
Site notes | |
---|---|
Excavation dates | 1991 |
Jebel Irhoud or Adrar n Ighoud (
Site
The site is the remnant of a
Ennouchi's team identified the remains of approximately 30 species of mammals, some of which are associated with the
Human remains
The site is particularly noted for the
Further excavations were carried out by American researchers during the 1990s as well as by a team led by
Dating
Initially, the finds were interpreted as
However, dating carried out by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig revealed that the Jebel Irhoud site was far older than first thought.[1] Fresh excavations carried out in 2004 by the Hublin team revealed more than 20 new bones from the remains of at least five people, and a number of stone tools. The finds included part of a skull, a jawbone, teeth, and limb bones that had come from three adults, a juvenile, and a child aged about seven-and-a-half years old.[18] The facial bones resembled those of humans today, but had much larger lower jaws and more elongated posterior braincases. They have similar features to the Florisbad Skull dating to 260,000 years ago found at the other end of the continent, in Florisbad, South Africa, which now has been attributed to Homo sapiens on the basis of the Jebel Irhoud finds.[21][18]
The tools discovered were found alongside gazelle bones and lumps of charcoal, indicating the presence of fire and, probably, of cooking in the cave. The gazelle bones showed characteristic signs of butchery and cooking, such as cut marks, notches consistent with marrow extraction, and charring.[19] Some of the tools had been burned due to fires being lit on top of them, presumably after they had been discarded. This enabled the researchers to use thermoluminescence dating to ascertain when the burning occurred, and by proxy, the age of the fossil bones that were found in the same deposit layer.
In 2017, the burnt tools were dated to approximately 315,000 years ago, indicating that the fossils are of approximately the same age. This conclusion was confirmed by recalculating the age of the Irhoud 3 mandible, which produced an age range compatible with that of the tools, at roughly 280,000 to 350,000 years old. If they hold up, these dates would make the remains by far the earliest known examples of Homo sapiens.[14][22][23]
This suggests that, rather than arising in East Africa approximately 200,000 years ago, modern humans may have been present across the length of Africa 100,000 years earlier. According to study author Jean-Jacques Hublin, "The idea is that early Homo sapiens dispersed around the continent and elements of human modernity appeared in different places, and so different parts of Africa contributed to the emergence of what we call modern humans today."[21] Early humans may have comprised a large, interbreeding population dispersed across Africa approximately 330,000 to 300,000 years ago. Thus, the rise of modern humans may have taken place on a continental scale rather than being confined to a particular corner of Africa.[24]
Hublin and his team also attempted to obtain DNA samples from these fossils, but these attempts were unsuccessful. Genomic analysis would have provided necessary evidence supporting the conclusion that these fossils are representative of the main lineage leading up to modern humanity, and that Homo sapiens had dispersed and developed all across Africa. Because of the unclear boundaries between different species of the genus Homo, and the lack of genomic evidence from these fossils, some doubt the classification of these fossils as Homo sapiens. Questions remain over the classification of these fossils.[1]
Morphology
When comparing these fossils with those of modern humans, the main difference is the elongated shape of the fossil
The degree of tooth development found is similar to modern European children of the same age, but teeth roots develop faster than for modern humans (and slower than for apes and for some other fossil hominids). Tooth crowns took a longer time to form than in modern humans.[27]
While the Jebel Irhoud specimens originally were noted to have been similar to later Aterian and Iberomaurusian specimens,[28] further examinations revealed that the Jebel Irhoud specimens differ from them in that they have a continuous supraorbital torus while the Aterian and Iberomaurasian specimens have a discontinuous supraorbital torus or, in some cases, none at all, and from this, it was concluded that the Jebel Irhoud specimens represent archaic Homo sapiens while the Aterian and Iberomaurasian specimens represent anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Despite this, it was noted that the Jebel Irhoud specimen whose cranium was complete enough to assess, showed "hints of 'modern' basicranial flexion in the relationship of the face and vault", and the teeth of another Jebel Irhoud specimen were subjected to synchrotron analysis that suggested "a modern developmental pattern."[29]
See also
- Fossil
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- List of human evolution fossils (with images)
- List of transitional fossils
References
- ^ .
- ^
- Richter, Daniel; Grün, Rainer; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Steele, Teresa E.; Amani, Fethi; Rué, Mathieu; Fernandes, Paul; Raynal, Jean-Paul; Geraads, Denis; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; McPherron, Shannon P. (8 June 2017). "The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age". Nature. 546 (7657): 293–296. S2CID 205255853.
- "Here we report the ages, determined by thermoluminescence dating, of fire-heated flint artefacts obtained from new excavations at the Middle Stone Age site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, which are directly associated with newly discovered remains of H. sapiens8. A weighted average age places these Middle Stone Age artefacts and fossils at 315 ± 34 thousand years ago. Support is obtained through the recalculated uranium series with electron spin resonance date of 286 ± 32 thousand years ago for a tooth from the Irhoud 3 hominin mandible.";
- Smith, Tanya M.; Tafforeau, Paul; Reid, Donald J.; Grün, Rainer; Eggins, Stephen; Boutakiout, Mohamed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques (10 April 2007). "Earliest evidence of modern human life history in North African early Homo sapiens". PMID 17372199.
- Richter, Daniel; Grün, Rainer; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Steele, Teresa E.; Amani, Fethi; Rué, Mathieu; Fernandes, Paul; Raynal, Jean-Paul; Geraads, Denis; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; McPherron, Shannon P. (8 June 2017). "The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age". Nature. 546 (7657): 293–296.
- . Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ McNish, James (7 June 2017). "Oldest known Homo sapiens fossils discovered in Morocco". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "The first of our kind: scientists discover the oldest Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco". Southern Cross University. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-470-75196-1.
- ^ a b "Le Jbel Irhoud livre peu à peu ses secrets". L'economiste.com. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Wong, Kate. "Ancient Fossils from Morocco Mess Up Modern Human Origins". Scientific American. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "World's oldest Homo sapiens fossils found in Morocco". science.org. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- PMID 13890331. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Lewino, Frédéric (7 June 2017). "Découverte exceptionnelle par un Français d'un sapiens de 300 000 ans". Le Point. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Kensington, James (September 12, 2017). "On the Threshold of Modern Humanity". Popular Archeology. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Scientists discover the oldest Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco". Phys.org. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ISBN 978-94-007-2928-5.
- ^ Ennouchi, Émile (1962). "Un neandertalien: L'Homme du Jebel Irhoud (Maroc)". Anthropologie (66): 279–299.
- ^ Ennouchi, Émile (1962). "Un crâne d'Homme ancien au Jebel Irhoud (Maroc)". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences (254): 4330–4332.
- ^ a b c d
- Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Bailey, Shara E.; Freidline, Sarah E.; Neubauer, Simon; Skinner, Matthew M.; Bergmann, Inga; Le Cabec, Adeline; Benazzi, Stefano; Harvati, Katerina; Gunz, Philipp (2017). "New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens" (PDF). Nature. 546 (7657): 289–292. S2CID 205255859.
- "Press Kit 2017-06-07 The first of our kind". Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Bailey, Shara E.; Freidline, Sarah E.; Neubauer, Simon; Skinner, Matthew M.; Bergmann, Inga; Le Cabec, Adeline; Benazzi, Stefano; Harvati, Katerina; Gunz, Philipp (2017). "New fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco and the pan-African origin of Homo sapiens" (PDF). Nature. 546 (7657): 289–292.
- ^ S2CID 205255853.
- PMID 35022610.
- ^ a b c Sample, Ian (7 June 2017). "Oldest Homo sapiens bones ever found shake foundations of the human story". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Zimmer, Carl (7 June 2017). "Oldest Fossils of Homo sapiens Found in Morocco, Altering History of Our Species". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Yong, Ed (7 June 2017). "Scientists Have Found the Oldest Known Human Fossils". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- . Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Der Homo sapiens ist älter als gedacht" (in German). Informationsdienst Wissenschaft. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ISBN 9780471214915.
- PMID 17372199.
- ISBN 9789058672667.
- PMID 27298468.