KNM-ER 1470 is know held at the Smithsonian Institutuion in Washington D.C. Credit: Smithsonian Institution/Wikipedia
SYDNEY: The ancestors of modern humans resembled apes much more recently than thought, according to a new and unprecedented reconstruction of a fossil skull.
According to U.S. scientists behind the research, humans may have developed their large brains and flat facial profiles as many as 300,000 years later than previously thought.
In 1972 renowned paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey and his team unearthed a fragmented fossil skull in Kenya and reconstructed it by hand. The skull – later dated at 1.9 million years old – belonged to a member of the species Homo rudolfensis, the earliest member of the genus Homo, to which we ourselves belong.
Leakey argued that the skull belonged to one of our first ‘human-looking’ ancestors, and experts have though it represents the transition to the larger brain, relatively flat facial profile, less pronounced jaw and smaller teeth that define the genus Homo.
However, a new much more detailed reconstruction of how that skull would have looked in life now challenges that idea.
Palaeoanthropologist and craniofacial biologist Timothy Bromage of the New York University College of Dentistry, in New York City, developed a computational method for analysing how the bones of the face grow in living animals and people. He then applied this method to the study of fossil human faces and found that our earliest human ancestors had faces that grew in a fashion more indicative of apes rather than humans.
Bromage also found that the reconstruction of Leakey’s famous skull, called KNM-ER 1470, didn’t agree with the pattern of facial development his analysis predicted.
“I discovered that the plan of the face, which is common to all mammals, was way off in the reconstruction of this skull,” Bromage told Cosmos Online. “Also it was odd that the reconstructed brain size of this skull was always [anomalous] with respect to all other early humans of that time period.”
On repositioning the face of H.rudolfensis according to his model, Bromage found that it was protruding – more like an ape. His team also found that the brain was much smaller than previously estimated and more in line with early human contemporaries.
According to Bromage, who presented his findings this week at a meeting of the International Association for Dental Research in New Orleans, the premise that the skull belonged to the Homo genus may have prejudiced Leakey to reconstruct it with the supposed quintessential Homo traits of a flat face and a large brain.
“Leakey produced a biased reconstruction based on erroneous preconceived expectations of early human appearances that violated principles of craniofacial development,” said Bromage. “Because he did not employ [biological] principles, he produced a reconstruction that could not have existed in real life.”
It’s not surprising that Leakey’s original reconstruction was incomplete and distorted given the limited technology available at the time, commented Peter Brown, a palaeoanthropologist with the University of New England in Armidale, Australia. “Computer-based CT 3-D methods were not available before 1990, so mistakes were easily made,” he said.
The interesting new reconstruction could have more wide-reaching implications, said biological anthropologist Colin Groves of the Australian National University in Canberra. It was on the basis of Leakey’s original reconstruction that later anthropologists classified Homo rudolfensis as a separate species, he says.
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This article says flat faces are recent on humans. Well, just look at Chris on the Sopranos, and you will see a non flat face, very wolflike.
So…does that mean us aisans are more evolved?
No, actually Afrikans are more “evolved.” If you can be such a thing. Afrikans have accumulated the most genetic variations over time. All branches of the human family tree spring from common African ancestors. Who at one point in time segregated themselves from the genetic melting pot that continued to simmer in Afrika.
Those segregated ancestors (out of afrika migrants) carried with them a limited genetic subset from which all other non-Afrikan people are derived. In short, peoples who developed out of Afrika will always have a smaller genetic variety to work with.
If one could define what it means to be “more evolved,” I think that definition would have to take into consideration the pool of genetic material (variation) available to a people at any given time.
As a side note, the flat faces and even similar eye structure that is stereotypical of “asian” people can also to be found in Afrika (See modern bushman populations).
Cheers
Not all Asians are flat-faced – and sometimes it is an illusion that they have a flat face – only those who had mixed with Mongols are flat-faced – but many North and East Europeans have flat-faces
NOT!!
What do you mean by “illusion”? How can it be an illusion to have flat faces? Just wondering.
true. it is actually kind of an illusion. just because of the fact that most asians have smaller, softer and more delicate features, ex. the more sunken eyes, the smaller noses, etc makes it seem like their faces might be flatter than others’. but actually most asians have very structured faces, high cheekbones are most common in asians. eastern europeans and mongols, turks, have the flat face. u’re right
YES! Do your research before looking like an idiot.
YES! Do your research.
I hope you are not refering to African People or “Black” because if your words are true then I would like to know. Why are these black men never the one to innovate the planet earth. Im not trying to be racist but when you realy think about it blacks have never advanced society, they never are known as the intellectuals of our population. The only black “genious” I can think of is Hannibal or Egyptian Engineers who built the mighty pyrimids insipired by silly degenerate religions. But yet they are from Northern Africa making them not truly black.
Your basis seems a bit skewed all inventors and geniouses of our history and current times are either White or Asain.
Which ironically the opposite of what you are saying! Blacks by my books judging by our history and now arn’t as (sadly and very simple thesis if I do say so myself) smart or if they are smart then they hide or dont take full advantage of it).
Asians DO have flat faces it’s no illusion. And are hardly distinctual from one another due to the natural boundaries and years of NO intermingling, and foods eaten. Obviously. Second that statement about African Americans was just prejudice and ignorant. You can hardly spell my man!!??! Maybe you need to look in the mirror. Now I’m not black, just someone who knows you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Ignorace, we know is not intelligence. Having an open mind,and accepting that you don’t know everything is the only true sign of intelligence. And PS people, this is America!! Do you know what that means? You got to be dumb as hell to be racist in this country!! We are ALL from some place else!! Don’t like diversity? Get the hell out of this “melting pot” of a country! Or… STFU! Have a blessed day;)
-Shayna
It is indeed sad that an article about evolution of facial features in humans provokes a discussion degenerating into racial division and insult. All modern humans share the exact same DNA; superficial physiological differences between races are just that, superficial. Jared Diamond has hit the nail on the head: how a human society develops primarily has been dependent on the environment: animals and plants that are capable of being domesticated, materials available, ambient weather conditions, etc. Considering the threat posed to our planet by the Western industrial model of civiliation, societies once perceived as backward and inferior could ultimately be more healthy and sustainable models. Aggression and inherent hatred of its own kind ARE truly human evolutionary traits.
http://inventors.about.com/od/blackinventors/a/Black_History.htm
As for this genetic evolution. Just as many “whites” have as many mutations as those you like to call “Black”. ALL humans evolved across time. Egyptians are not caucasian, keep dreaming. I am North African and am not, nor would I ever consider myself anything other than AFRICAN.
I don’t think Hannibal or the early Egyptians were black at all.
you don’t know history…sad
Well who’s to say what actions dictate an innovation or advancement for all of mankind. I mean we can dictate how certain events and inventions have effected us from a distance in time (the future) but never know the full effects during current times (for instance massive usage of cell phones). Even when we view past events and innovations from the present we can not comprehend all the values and effects it had on the human race. For instance look at WW2 for example. Huge innovations in warfare, weapons, psychology, medicine, media and politics have all come from that era that are still used today. The Third Reich’s test alongside the Japanese Empire on POW’s have greatly ‘pushed’ forward the fields of medicine and psychology were developed and tried out during the war. Of course on the other side millions of people died and suffered, some far from recovery but has it not aided the people in current times. Who are you to say what innovations have not aided humanity as whole for all we know rappers like Lil Wayne and Jay-z maybe the friggin second coming and herding us sheep to paradise. How can you absolutely alleviate a whole entire population of not contributing to the innovation of humanity just based on their race and what we know of their history. I mean in psych 101 they have you believe that a guy named Freud and other Western Europeans and Americans developed the school of studying the mind yet the Persians have been doing it way when the Holy Roman Empire still held some power in the continent of Europe.
Blacks are very innovative.Since blacks were forced into slavery who do you think came up with many of the tools and technologies of today.
The only reason why many blacks could not take the credit for many other inventions is that whites either stole the patents,lost the patents or made sure blacks could not afford the patents.
Your black theory needs more thought try reading a history book or two.
You are an asshole, No common sense at all. You say blacks have never advanced in society right, well try being enslaved, threatened, deprived of your culture, having to convert into aother one, being forbidden to speak out about anything. How could a black person “advance” ? Black people invented lots of things but europeans stole their ideas during slaverY , THATS WHY YOU DONT HEAR OF THEM INVENTING STUFF YOU STUPID f*&K.EUROPEANS have been successful at one thing stealing other people’s ideas, inventions and taking credit for it and using sick, twisted sadistic psychological brainwashing methods to make people like you believe the bull s^&t you do WHILE TRYING TO MAKE THEMSELVES APPEAR intelligent and covering up and rewriting history. Not all white people are bad but some are truly ridiculous. You talk about silly degenerate religions, well I bet you are an atheist, sadist rapist and the list goes on. you prob dont believe in anything.Do us all a favor, learn REAL history, not the type you were brainwashed with to make you feel suprerior. You are asking rhetorical questions like why black ppl arent innovating planet earth, welll here’s your answer IDIOT, The white supremacists that run this world DO NOT want that and they have constructed a very clever system to keep any black person from anvancing too much and if they do it is a hand pick black person that does their bidding.By the way North Africans are black so what you mean not truly black. Two blacks can actually make a light skinned baby or even a white one in rare cases.Two whites cant make a black. that should tell you something. YOU came from a BLACK ancestor common to all races! as much as you hate to hear it( cause i know you’re racist)Its funny how you say stuff with such conviction and yet you are dead ass WRONG!TRUST ME IF ANY BLACK PERSON TRULY CAME OUT WITH THEIR SMARTNESS FOR THE WRORLD TO SEE THAT PERSON WOULD BE HATED OR SECRETLY KILLED OR SLANDERED AND YOU KNOW IT SO DONT SAY THEY HIDE THEIR INTELLIGENCE OR DONT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, YOU KNOW VERY WELL HOW THIS EVIL WORLD WE LIVE IN OPERATES SO JUST STOP IT! STOP PRETENDING LIKE YOU DONT KNOW, SEED OF SATAN!.The world was taught by white Europeans to hate black people because we are unique and actually had a deep conscience before we adapted to this evil society.Africans were busy and content living their own lives with their own little inventions living in wonderful happy societies with rich culture, taking care of each other( before white ppl for some dumb ass reason abducted them to bring them somewhere totally outside of their environment, force them to talk like you, dress like you, eat what you eat, adapt your twisted evil ways and you ask WHY black ppl havent advanced well THERE’S YOUR F^%$*&g history.Now put YOURSELF in their place!!!! Why abduct africans from their own place to bring them around you and transform them then complain about them and act like they just showed up. The Slave owners should have left them on their own damn continent if they were going to have so much s%$T to say about them in the first place. ( But guess what they needed the “dumb” so called black people to build their buildings, secretly invent their stuff, use their strength to work in the fields in the unforgiving sun, produce all the damn labor that …drumroll ADVANCED THIS MOTHERF&%$^&G place that me and you live in THINK ABOUT IT IF YOU HAVE A BRAIN. You are a waste of Human being, Not even intellectual enough to figure that sh$%t out.
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