120,000-Yr-Old Human Teeth Found in China

[Anomalocaris]

120,000-Yr-Old Human Found in China

Forty-seven teeth from our species dated to 80,000-120,000 years ago have just been found in a cave in southern China, according to a new study that has many important implications concerning humanity’s early history.

The teeth, excavated from Fuyan Cave in Daoxian, southern China, represent the earliest unambiguous evidence for Homo sapiens outside of Africa.

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[spud the mackem]

Must have been one helluva dentist.

[Space Commander Travis]

That's what always happens, you see headlines like "120,000-year old human found in China", or "New type of Dinosaur found in Peru", but it's always a fossil or something. I was hoping it was going to be a surely unbeatable contender for the world's oldest living person.

[freetoroam]

Great find, but when has a set of teeth equalled to being a human? is it really? its not quite a human, its a human set of teeth.

[freetoroam]

That's what always happens, you see headlines like "120,000-year old human found in China", or "New type of Dinosaur found in Peru", but it's always a fossil or something. I was hoping it was going to be a surely unbeatable contender for the world's oldest living person.

How did I miss this, sorry Nor T you got in there before me. I reckon we were thinking on the same lines....hence my post.

[ShadowSot]

Great find, but when has a set of teeth equalled to being a human? is it really? its not quite a human, its a human set of teeth.

The teeth are the remains of a human. Human teeth don't just pop up without a mouth to have fit into.

[freetoroam]

The teeth are the remains of a human. Human teeth don't just pop up without a mouth to have fit into.

I know that, but its still not a human, its a set of human teeth. I want to see bones, hair, maybe even a little grin.

[Still Waters]

The teeth are the remains of a human. Human teeth don't just pop up without a mouth to have fit into.

Granted, but Discovery News have made it sound like they found a human which was not the case. The title is misleading.

*Title fixed*

[Harte]

This news is possibly revolutionary. That's too old to fit the current consensus regarding migration out of Africa.

Harte

[Deleted]

you know that latest methods have revealed that most cave painting were painted by women.

[freetoroam]

Granted, but Discovery News have made it sound like they found a human which was not the case. The title is misleading.

*Title fixed*

Arrrrrr, what am I gunna moan about now! change it back.

Edited October 15, 2015 by freetoroam

[IBelieveWhatIWant]

Why are migration routes always tried to tie back to African roots? I get that we once thought that human civilization started in what is now Africa but would it be so strange to think that it started in multiple places? I could very well have started in China first and then started in Africa or Started in China and migrated to Africa or there was more than 1 starting place for life.

[jarjarbinks]

Why are migration routes always tried to tie back to African roots? I get that we once thought that human civilization started in what is now Africa but would it be so strange to think that it started in multiple places? I could very well have started in China first and then started in Africa or Started in China and migrated to Africa or there was more than 1 starting place for life.

it would be a truth far greater to accept than the earth is a sphere

[Harte]

you know that latest methods have revealed that most cave painting were painted by women.

Weren't too many dishes to wash, I suppose.

Harte

[freetoroam]

Why are migration routes always tried to tie back to African roots? I get that we once thought that human civilization started in what is now Africa but would it be so strange to think that it started in multiple places? I could very well have started in China first and then started in Africa or Started in China and migrated to Africa or there was more than 1 starting place for life.

I think it is because Africa was the central point at the time when man first began and the continents were still joined, when man was still a homo erectus he was in the area now known as Africa, then as homo erectus evolved and began to go off on their rambles from there, they travelled they adapted and evolved to their new surroundings and new climates over the generations, h

ence the differences in races,

[Harte]

I think it is because Africa was the central point at the time when man first began and the continents were still joined...

Hold on there.

Okay, you're freetoroam, but you roamed right off the map with that one.

Harte

[freetoroam]

Hold on there.

Okay, you're freetoroam, but you roamed right off the map with that one.

Harte

Did homo erectus not originate in the area now known as Africa?

And where the continents once joined?

Edited October 15, 2015 by freetoroam

[Harte]

Did homo erectus not originate in the area now known as Africa?

This is thought to be the case.

And where the continents once joined?

Pangea, the most recent supercontinent, split apart 175 million years ago. Easily over 170 million years before even the earliest humans of any type arose, and a full 120 million years before even the earliest primate we've ever found.

For perspective, the dinosaurs died out around 60 million years ago.

Harte

[Athena1979]

"preserved fossils older than 45,000 years ago have been lacking outside of Africa, although primates themselves originated in Asia. Some researchers have even proposed an "Out of Asia" instead of "Out of Africa" migration path for the first Homo sapiens.

While the new findings do not resolve that question, they do reveal that our species was in southern China up to 70,000 years before it was in the eastern Mediterranean and Europe. The newly unearthed remains also offer evidence that China during the Pleistocene Era was likely inhabited by multiple groups of humans: our species and another more primitive lineage(s). Prior fossil discoveries show that the primitive Denisovans, for example, were in northern Asia."

-from the article. Some have consider that we originated out of Asia instead of Africa, due to that is where primates originates from (Asia).

[freetoroam]

This is thought to be the case.

Pangea, the most recent supercontinent, split apart 175 million years ago. Easily over 170 million years before even the earliest humans of any type arose, and a full 120 million years before even the earliest primate we've ever found.

For perspective, the dinosaurs died out around 60 million years ago.

Harte

It will remain - thought to be the case ...unless they find something else to say otherwise.

Did the early humans not begin travel through the Levantine corridor, which connected Africa to Eurasia...although not "attached" as in the original times, pre humans, its still a route for the early humans to have travelled out of the African region. I am trying to point out a way early man or primate would have travelled out to other areas without having to build a boat or take a bus.

I do believe we came from the African region and evolved as we travelled according to the different climates and geographical regions.

[ArcherSage]

20,000 years ago migration? I thought they found cro magnon remains further back than that in Europe?

[ShadowSot]

I think it is because Africa was the central point at the time when man first began and the continents were still joined, when man was still a homo erectus he was in the area now known as Africa, then as homo erectus evolved and began to go off on their rambles from there, they travelled they adapted and evolved to their new surroundings and new climates over the generations, h

ence the differences in races,

The continents weren't still joined when man evolved, that was much earlier than when we appeared in the scene.

Edit: Oops, sorry. I see Harte already caught that.

Edited October 16, 2015 by ShadowSot

[freetoroam]

The continents weren't still joined when man evolved, that was much earlier than when we appeared in the scene.

yes, got that, but there was still a route out = Levantine corridor.

Few areas of the world have played as prominent a role in human evolution as the Levantine Corridor, a comparatively narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the expanse of inhospitable desert to the east. The first hominids to leave Africa, over 1.5 million years ago, first entered the Levant before spreading into what is now Europe and Asia.

http://www.oxbowbooks.com/dbbc/human-paleoecology-in-the-levantine-corridor.html

[ShadowSot]

Don't know of you saw that, but I didn't see Harte's reply and edited an apology into my post. Africa is still connected to Europe there.

Interestingly, there was trade into the Americas before Colimbus or the Vikings landed. Through trade into Alaska amount the Inuit.

[Frank Merton]

It seems modern humans moved into Asia quite awhile before entering Europe, at least it appears that way since no signs of them in Europe are found until much later.

It might be that the Neanderthal populations in Europe formed a barrier but that Homo Erectus (or descendants) in Asia were not so numerous nor able to keep modern humans out. Only later then did modern humans enter Europe, with or contributing to the extinction of the Neanderthals.