Fossils unearthed from a mine in Morocco have challenged the long-held belief that modern humans originated in East Africa around 200,000 years ago. The remains, discovered at Jebel Irhoud, a former barite mine 100km west of Marrakesh, have been dated to approximately 300,000 years old, making them the oldest known specimens of Homo sapiens.
Archaeologists found bones of at least five individuals, including a partial skull, jawbone, teeth and limb bones. The fossils were accompanied by sharpened flint tools, gazelle bones and charcoal, suggesting the site was once a living area. Dating tests on a tooth and stone tools confirmed their extreme age, stunning the research team. Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology described his reaction as 'a big wow'.
The discovery challenges the 'Garden of Eden' theory that modern humans evolved solely in East Africa. Hublin noted that the findings suggest our species was present across Africa by 300,000 years ago. The fossils show a mixture of modern and archaic features: faces similar to contemporary humans but with larger jaws and more elongated braincases, indicating that the modern brain evolved within Homo sapiens rather than being inherited from earlier species.
Jebel Irhoud had puzzled scientists since the 1960s, when remains were initially attributed to Neanderthals and thought to be only 40,000 years old. Recent excavations revealed the true age and significance of the site. The researchers published their findings in two papers in the journal Nature, detailing the fossil analysis and dating of tools to between 280,000 and 350,000 years old.
Hublin remarked that the face of the specimen 'is the face of someone you could meet on the tube in London', highlighting the striking resemblance to modern humans despite the vast timescale. Further excavations may yield more remains, shedding light on why these early humans travelled to the site, as the flint tools originated from a region 50km south of Jebel Irhoud.
