Million-Year-Old Skull Rewrites Human Evolution, Scientists Claim (bbc.com)
(Sunday September 28, 2025 @11:34AM (EditorDavid)
from the origins-of-species dept.)
- Reference: 0179561802
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/09/27/2250232/million-year-old-skull-rewrites-human-evolution-scientists-claim
- Source link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx01ve5151o
The BBC reports that a million-year-old human skull found in China suggests that the human species " [1]began to emerge at least half a million years earlier than we thought , researchers are claiming in a new study."
> It also shows that we co-existed with other sister species, including Neanderthals, for much longer than we've come to believe, they say.
>
> The scientists claim their analysis "totally changes" our understanding of human evolution and, if correct, it would certainly rewrite a key early chapter in our history. But other experts in a field where disagreement over our emergence on the planet is rife, say that the new study's conclusions are plausible but far from certain.
>
> The discovery, [2]published in the leading scientific journal Science , shocked the research team, which included scientists from a university in China and the UK's Natural History Museum. "From the very beginning, when we got the result, we thought it was unbelievable. How could that be so deep into the past?" said Prof Xijun Ni of Fudan University, who co-led the analysis. "But we tested it again and again to test all the models, use all the methods, and we are now confident about the result, and we're actually very excited."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [3]sinij for sharing the article.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx01ve5151o
[2] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado9202
[3] https://www.slashdot.org/~sinij
> It also shows that we co-existed with other sister species, including Neanderthals, for much longer than we've come to believe, they say.
>
> The scientists claim their analysis "totally changes" our understanding of human evolution and, if correct, it would certainly rewrite a key early chapter in our history. But other experts in a field where disagreement over our emergence on the planet is rife, say that the new study's conclusions are plausible but far from certain.
>
> The discovery, [2]published in the leading scientific journal Science , shocked the research team, which included scientists from a university in China and the UK's Natural History Museum. "From the very beginning, when we got the result, we thought it was unbelievable. How could that be so deep into the past?" said Prof Xijun Ni of Fudan University, who co-led the analysis. "But we tested it again and again to test all the models, use all the methods, and we are now confident about the result, and we're actually very excited."
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [3]sinij for sharing the article.
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx01ve5151o
[2] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado9202
[3] https://www.slashdot.org/~sinij
Co-existence? That's not a new idea is it? (Score:2)
About 30 years ago I read Clan of the Cave Bear and thought it was considered to be well grounded in then-current scientific knowledge. The story was all about Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens living in the same space at the same time. This article makes it sound like this is a new idea.
Anyone know what the actual consensus was and is?