2023-09-01 06:22:42
7 million years ago, the human line separated from that of the chimpanzees. If this evolution seems to have occurred in Africa, the origin of our common ancestor with the monkeys is much less certain. While many place it on the African continent as well, the discovery of an 8.7 million year old skull in Turkey suggests a different story altogether.
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If the lineage of modern humans appeared in Africa, the question of the origin of hominins (primate subfamily at the origin of the human lineage and that of chimpanzees) remains one of the most debated subjects. in paleoanthropology. Because if it is now attested that Man and apes have a common ancestor, two visions clash concerning the place of origin of this common branch. Most scientists place the origin of hominins in Africa, but another hypothesis has emerged more recently, suggesting an origin on the European continent.
Hominids, Hominids and Hominins
Before going further, it is necessary to make a small semantic reminder because it is true that a certain vagueness reigns over the terminology often used. Modern humans (us and our ancestors of the genus Homo) but also our cousins the Australopithecines, are part of the Hominines. Hominines are part, with Panines (chimpanzees and bonobos), of the subfamily Homininas. Namely that the separation of these two lineages occurred at least 7 million years ago. Hominids and gorillas ultimately form the family Hominidae.
If it is almost clear that the hominins, the human line therefore, emerged in Africa, doubt remains on the origin of the hominins. Currently, the African hypothesis is preferred because the representatives of the two lineages descended from the Hominids (the Hominines and the Panines) have been found on African territory. However, recent discoveries have cast doubt.
An 8.7 million year old primate that strengthens the hypothesis of a European origin
Monkey fossils dating from the end of the Miocene (more than 5 million years) have indeed been found in Europe and central Anatolia, showing that the presence of hominins in this territory could be much older than we think. thought so before, even that this primate subfamily from which the human lineage originated in Europe. And the discovery of a skull in Turkey could well come to reinforce this new hypothesis.
The skull, found in 2015 at the Çorakyerler site, is remarkably preserved and has made it possible to identify a new representative of the Hominid subfamily. Analyzes reveal that this primate, named Anadoluvius turkae, would have lived 8.7 million years ago. It is part of the oldest known radiation of Hominids, the members of this radiation having been identified, for the moment, only in Europe and Anatolia.
A long evolution in Europe before spreading to Africa
The skull presents an almost complete face, with the forehead and part of the cranial box. So many details that made it possible to reconstruct an image ofAnatolians. It was probably a rather large and massive primate, similar to a 50 to 60 kg male chimpanzee. The paleoenvironmental study suggests thatAnatolians lived in dry and rather open forests, unlike the forest environments in which the great apes live today. It certainly spent much of its time on the ground, as suggested by the powerful jaws and large, thick teeth that must have enabled it to feed on hard foods like roots.
These results, published in the journal Communications biology, therefore suggest a completely different story than the one told above. It appears that hominins would have first evolved for more than 5 million years in central and western Europe before colonizing the eastern Mediterranean and then, from there, would have dispersed in Africa about 8 million years ago, probably due to an environmental change that led to a reduction in European forests. On African territory, these hominins would then have diversified to give rise to the lineage of African apes and that of humans.
It has long been recognized that the modern fauna of the African plains (giraffes, rhinoceros, antelopes, elephants, etc.) finds its origin in the fauna of the eastern Mediterranean, which has spread southwards. According to this new study, the distant ancestors of humans and chimpanzees would therefore have simply followed the same movement 9 to 7 million years ago.
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