The particularly small Homo erectus skull, shown from above with a large skull of the same species (from Olduvai, Tanzania), to demonstrate the gorilla-like size variation.
Credit: National Museums of Kenya/F. Spoor and J. Reader.
PARIS: The discovery of two fossils has challenged the belief that our early human ancestor Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis and suggests they co-existed.
The finds, on the eastern bank of Lake Turkana in Kenya – detailed today in the British journal Nature – are evidence that the two species may have intermingled for some 50,000 years in East Africa.
The team that found the remains was led by mother-daughter team Louise and Meave Leakey of the famed Kenyan anthropological family who have uncovered a host of critical human and hominid remains in east Africa.
Stirring controversy
One of the fossils is a 1.4-million-year-old upper jaw bone of H.habilis, which is the most recent fossil of the species known. The second is a remarkably well preserved skull of H.erectus, which paradoxically dates back even further, to some 1.55 million years ago.
"What is truly striking about this fossil is its size," said Fred Spoor of University College London in the U.K., and one of the paper's authors. "It's the smallest Homo erectus found anywhere in the world."
The recent discovery of the two fossils has created a stir among academics tracing humankind's roots, as it challenges the presumed evolutionary timeline of the species: H.habilis to H.erectus to Homo sapiens.
"Their co-existence makes it unlikely that Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis," said Meave Leakey of the Koobi Fora Research Project at the National museums of Kenya in Nairobi. "The fact that they stayed separate as individual species for a long time suggests that they had their own ecological niche, thus avoiding direct competition."
H.habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which is thought to have lived from approximately 2.5 million to 1.8 million years ago.
Great variation
The name, literally "clothed man" was given because crude stone tools were found near the sites of their remains. They were thought to have been succeeded by the H.erectus, or upright man, whose remains were first found in Asia. But later their fossilised remains ranging from between 1.8- and one-million-years-old were unearthed in Africa, and Europe as well as in Indonesia, Vietnam, and China.
H.erectus is thought to be an important human ancestor because it may have been the first to leave Africa.
The weaker teeth and jawbones of H.erectus suggest a food regime including more meat, animal fat and softer food unlike the H.habilis who largely fed on nuts and tubers
The variation in the skull size of the East African H.erectus fossils – from the petite new skull to a large specimen previously discovered in neighbouring Tanzania – points to sexual dimorphism, or a large difference in form between male and female individuals of the same species.
"In gorillas, males are much larger than females and this sexual dimorphism is related to their strategy of having multiple mates," said co-author and anthropologist Susan Anton of New York University In New York City, USA."The new Kenyan fossil suggests that, contrary to common belief, this may have been true of Homo erectus as well."
The authors point out that like gorillas and chimpanzees, who currently cohabit in Africa without entering into conflict, the two genus species had likely lived side by side on the continent for nearly half a million years.
Evolution in doubt
It should come as no surprise that a false theory (evolution) would in time find more evidential information that confuses rather than solidifies the myth of evolution. With the "millions and billions" of years worth of evidence that should remain and form an infallible fossil record, no such record exists as the theory of evolution becomes shabbier with time. Time should be on the side of the evolutionist as more empirical evidence should become available to prove their hypothesis.But time has not been kind to them as their hypothesis does nothing but crumble. Evolution remains the greatest deceit in the history of science!!
Oh, what a pity! The Drongo
Oh, what a pity! The Drongo Squad has finally discovered COSMOS. Please go away, you silly fellow, and learn some real biology.
Intelligence in doubt
What a very strange comment. Just to clarify the obvious, this find in no way throws doubt on the theory of evolution by natural selection. It is simply some new evidence calling into question a small detail of the story of human evolution as it has up till now been understood. Which is great! Unlike some other methods of understanding the universe, the scientific approach expects and welcomes new information which overturns established ideas. That's how we can learn and build on what has come before.
I would have been surprised
I would have been surprised if there had been no overlap. Indeed, the existing fossils had already indicated strongly the existence of an overlap.
The sign of a healthy science is one in which there is numerous debates.
There is *nothing* in the paper which undermines evoutionary theory. Humans share a common ancestor with chimpanzees, who are smarter than most creationists.
Annoyed
I second to motion for the silly fellow to please go away. You are violating the honor system by proselytizing here. This is a science related site. Please take your religion elsewhere.
Haha
Sorry to troll, I actually believe quite strongly in the modern synthesis. Just wanted to see if everyone was awake.
No evolution eh?
Hi Ron. All name calling aside I have always wanted to know how creationists explain virus strains changing. To me personally this sort of thing makes no sense without evolution, but if you have a reasonable scientific explanation I would love to hear it. I tried to see if you have answered this question before but it wasn't really tackled in the only article I have found by you.
Evolution is fact. There is no doubt
Your reasoning is that there should be a clear, solid fossil record given the millions of years that evolution is supposed to have taken place. The fact is, there is such a record of fossils. The fact is, that in millions of years, most organic material decomposes. The fact is, the evidence in the article to which we both responded actually supports the idea of evolution. You seem to have both reasoning and reading comprehension impairment.
Is Evolution Really in Doubt
Dear Ron Cote,
My first impression from reading your comment headed 'Evolution in Doubt' is that you have not mentioned your religious bias. You seem to confer that your comments are scientific and without an unmentioned bias.
Sir, you are a fool!
You are very careful not to mention Mr. Darwin, who was probably the greatest scientist in all history, at a level, even greater than than Newton, Maxwell, Einstein and Plank. Evolutionary biology drives medicine today and explains the resurgence of serious pathogens to humans, particularly in hospitals throughout the world.
I know that you are a fool because of your 'millions and billions' of years comment. Of course the world began on Monday (Not Sunday because your eternal spook took the day off), September 19, 6004 years ago, as proposed by Bishop Dickhead of the Church of England in 1792 or whenever.
As an old saying goes.. 'there is no point in talking to a fool' sadly you've got it.
Keep an open mind Ron. At this point there is no difference between what I understand of you and what you believe and the fanatic moslems who also believe what you believe. They kill people to make sure everyone has to believe the same shit.
Hey! Do the Luddites wish to rule again?
Regards,
Alec
To Not in Doubt- this silly
To Not in Doubt- this silly fellow is not going away at your say so and be advised that I am a biologist who has worked for NASA and in R&D on artificial heart and kidney devices. Where did you learn biology? Like most of your colleagues, you too, seems obligated to resort to the insult, a poor crutch usually used when there is nothing substantive to offer!
To Emlyn- You possess the evolutionist’s ability to sweep significant evidence under the rug by relegating it to “small detail”. When, after these billions of years, will you and your kind be able to put together a believable scenario, rather than the constant influx of “new” information that adds no credible evidence to your hallowed myth of evolution. With the paucity of empirical evidence to support evolution, you are to be admired for your degree of unwavering faith in a bankrupt,hollow hypothesis.
To Mike Brass- One added overlap that might not also surprise you is in the hundreds of human footprints found in and around those of dinosaurs. It seems rather hypocritical for you to pontificate that numerous debates are a healthy sign of science and then in the next paragraph resort to the usual evolutionist tactic of insulting those who would debate.
To Joe Jenkins- It does not surprise me that you would be annoyed at anyone with the audacity to debate. You mention an honor system? Where is the honor among deceivers? On the religious angle, be advised that in the 1957 case of Washington Ethical Society vs District of Columbia, secular humanism to include evolution was declared by the Supreme Court to be a non-theistic religion within the meaning of the First Amendment. So you need to take your religion elsewhere, as well!
Evolutionists continue to astonish me at their tenacity to believe in the deceit of evolution in order to support their atheism.