News Anthropology

Oldest known Homo sapiens fossils come from northern Africa, studies claim

Face, teeth features peg 300,000-year-old fossils as early humans, but brain shape yet to evolve

ancient lower jaw

OUR KIND  Approximately 300,000-year-old fossils unearthed in Morocco, including this lower jaw, come from the oldest known Homo sapiens, researchers contend. But some scientists suspect the new finds come from a population that, despite some similarities, lived before the emergence of H. sapiens.

J.-J. Hublin/MPI-EVA, Leipzig

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

In a surprising and controversial geographic twist, the earliest known remains of the human species, Homo sapiens, have turned up in northwestern Africa, researchers claim.