Oldest humans

Satanus

"In November 2007, researchers found a cave deposit containing mammal fossils on the Mulan Mountain of Chongzuo City and collected two human tooth fossils and several mammal fossils from it. In May 2008, Prof. Jin Changzhu found a piece of fragmentary archaic human mandible and a large number of symbiotic mammal fossils in the trial excavation of this cave, which was named Zhiren Cave.

According to stratigraphic correlation and faunal analysis, 230Th-234U disbalance uranides method and isotope dating method, the age of archaic humans in the Zhiren Cave was 100,000-113,000 years ago. In the past two years, the research group led by Prof. Liu Wu of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, in cooperation with relevant research institutes at home and abroad, carried out in-depth research on the Zhiren Cave human fossils.

Through studies of the characteristics of the Zhiren Cave human fossils by means of morphological observation, laser scanning, geometric morphometric analysis and other means, researchers found that the Zhiren Cave human mandible presents a series of derived characteristics of modern humans, which are significantly different from those of archaic Homo sapiens but are similar to those of living humans. These fossil characteristics indicate that the Zhiren Cave humans are early modern humans in the transition stage from archaic Homo sapiens to modern humans. Their series of significant discoveries indicate that the emergence of early modern humans or origin of modern humans in East Asia dates from at least 100,000 years ago, which predates the oldest previously known modern humans in this region by at least 60,000 years.

This week, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a thesis on this research online. Wu Xinzhi, member of CAS and one of the authors of this thesis, pointed out that the Zhiren Cave human fossils provide a new intermediate link for the continuous evolution of archaic humans. He also pointed out that the mandible from the Klasies River Mouth of Africa is normally considered as the important fossil evidence supporting the theory that modern humans originated in Africa; however, the age and morphology of the Zhiren Cave human mandible are similar to and even earlier than those of the mandible from the Klasies River Mouth. It indicates that not only Africa but also China has experienced the course of evolution from archaic humans to modern humans. The hypothesis of “continuous evolution with hybridization” of China’s archaic humans is more in line with the reality of history and provides frim support to the multi-regional human evolution hypothesis and further challenges the “out-of-Africa” model for modern human origins."

http://www.conference.ac.cn/Newewsletter/html/new73/bios.html

I read .physorg for science news. I added paragraphs, as it seems that some scientists are paragraphically challenged.

S

LouBelle

There goes mans' history of only 6000 years - ooooh no.

I wonder when many in the christian world will wake up to this kind of proof. I'm sure not all christians believe that man is only 6000 years old but a great majority of them do. Well the ones I've spoken too .... anyway point is - wakey wakey.

okay the above may not have fitted in with what you were saying.

Doesn't science point to there being 7 lines of decent - or something along those lines - can't remember what the theory is called - the 7 mothers of eve? The 7 Eve mothers - okay I haven't had my coffee yet.

cptkirk

i wonder which "camp" is considered to have more evidence at this point, the out of africa camp , or the multi-regional camp.

LouBelle

I'm going Africa - cos it's 'my' camp

Satanus

The out of africa camp has the most members. A thing to keep in mind is that due to chinas rise, it may slant archeological enterpretation. Outsiders involved in the project gives some reassurance.

S

Hortensia

It's interesting, even keeping in mind the chance that the Chinese may slant the information a bit. Thanks for sharing. I'm off now to find out more about this cave.

Hortensia

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/10/15/1014386107.abstract

Also, nicely, a link to this discussion pops up on the first page of google results when I searched zhiren cave.

It's so interesting that, rather than a straight line of descent, ancient human ancestors from different lines probably interbred.

here's a rather cool list:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/species.html

Satanus

If you find something interesting, you can always bring it here. I find that the dates are always being pushed back. This has been happening for decades. It wouldn't surprise me if it keeps on going until modern type humans are found to be much older than generally was thought.

S

TotallyADD

Thanks for the imformation Satanus. Good part of my life I believe humans have been around only 6000 years. In my late 40's I started looking into what science had to say on this and as time went on between the flood account (which made no sense) and how longs humans have been around was the first big crack and help me get out of the JW world. I felt if the Bible was wrong on this what else is it wrong in. Yet millions of people hang their whole life on a book written by bronze age men. That is why LouBelle I don't think many fundamental christians will listen. Just like the JW's are under the influence of mind control so our the fudamentalist christians. Totally ADD

Oldest humans

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