Yukon fossils represent a pivotal moment in evolution

[orogenicman]

Speak kindly of HE. He may well turn out to be an ancestor of yours.

Not too long ago paleo-anthropologists were "sure" that HNS and HSS never interbred. Now we know that they did which means that if you wish to define "species" as a group which can only breed successfully with itself it means that these are NOT separate species. The relationship between the wide-ranging HE and later hominids is equally hazy.

We may well turn out to be them.

The oldest known Homo Erectus fossils in Africa and at the Dmanisi site appear to be roughly contemporaneous, with the latter being only slightly older (we must keep in mind the relatively large dating errors (+/-)involved with fossils this old). The fact of the matter is that the bulk of Homo Erectus fossils are found in Africa, and so it stands to reason that that is where the largest population was located. Whether they evolved in Africa first and then moved elsewhere, or moved in from elsewhere to Africa, has little bearing on later human populations migrating out of Africa. The evidence, to my mind, is pretty convincing that the oldest fully human populations originated in Africa. That is where the oldest fully human fossils have been found, as has been expected all along.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jul200...-j25.shtml

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...021105.php

In comparison, the oldest known fully human fossil found in Europe dates only to 34,000-36,000 years ago.

http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/2370.aspx

While the oldest fully human fossils in Asia are at least 60,000 years ago and possibly 100,000 years old.

http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm



Date of Fossil
(years ago)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

East Africa:
Herto, Middle Awash 160,000-154,000
Omo 1 195,000
Laetoli 120,000
South Africa:
Border Cave 115,000-90,000
Klasies River Mouth 90,000
Israel:
Skhul and Qafzeh 92,000-90,000
Australia:
Lake Mungo 60,000-46,000
Asia:
Ordos (Mongolia) 40,000-20,000 ?
Liujiang (China) 139,000-111,000 ?
Zhirendong (China) 100,000
Zhoukoudian upper cave
(China) 27,000
Europe:
Peştera cu Oase (Romania) 36,000-34,000
Combe Capelle (France) 35,000-30,000
Mladeč and Předmostí
(Czech Republic) 35,000-25,000
Cro-Magnon (France) 27,000-23,000