28 March 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

Homo Sapiens are older than we previously thought

Researchers have discovered that Omo I skeletons, previously thought to be less than 200,000 years old, are 230,000 years old. This shows that Homo Sapiens was at least 30,000 years older than scientists previously thought.

The Omo I remains were discovered in 1967 at the Omo Kibish site near Ethiopia’s Omo River. The human remains were previously estimated to be roughly 195,000 years old. Now, according to a new study published in Nature on Jan. 12, the bones are older than a massive volcanic explosion that shook the region around 233,000 years ago.

Volcanologist Céline Vidal of Cambridge University, paleoanthropologist Aurélien Mounier from the Musée de l’Homme in Paris, and their colleagues wanted to date the Omo I samples again because they apparently coincided with a prehistoric volcanic eruption. An age of 200,000 years didn’t align. After studying the samples, they realized they were looking at the earliest evidence of Homo sapiens ever unearthed.

Dr. Céline Vidal, the lead author of the study, and her colleagues have been trying to date all major volcanic eruptions in the Ethiopian Rift around the time of the emergence of Homo sapiens – a period known as the late Middle Pleistocene – during a four-year project.

The team collected pumice rock samples from the volcanic deposits and ground them down to sub-millimeter size.

The researchers who conducted the study at an archaeological site (Image: Al Deino/SWNS)
The researchers who conducted the study at an archaeological site (Image: Al Deino/SWNS)

By dating the chemical “fingerprints” of the volcanic ash layers that sat below and above the fossil, the experts were able to calculate that the fossil could be in the region 30,000 years earlier than previous estimations of early human life forms.

“Each eruption has its own fingerprint – its own evolutionary story below the surface, which is determined by the pathway the magma followed,” Dr. Vidal said.

“Once you’ve crushed the rock, you free the minerals within and then you can date them, and identify the chemical signature of the volcanic glass that holds the minerals together.”

Another co-author Dr. Aurélien Mounier, of France’s Musée de l’Homme, added: “Unlike other Middle Pleistocene fossils which are thought to belong to the early stages of the Homo sapiens lineage, Omo I possesses unequivocal modern human characteristics, such as a tall and globular cranial vault and a chin.”

“In my opinion, Omo I represents the oldest occurrence of our species in the fossil record.”

Despite having discovered the minimum age of the Omo I samples, the researchers now need to determine the maximum age of these fossils as well as the wider emergence of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa. They want to do this by connecting more buried ash to more volcanic eruptions in the region, providing a stronger geological history for the sedimentary strata in which the region’s fossils are formed.

Related Articles

Severed right hands reveal Trophy-Taking practices in Ancient Egypt

2 April 2023

2 April 2023

Twelve severed hands were found in Egypt as part of a horrifying “trophy-taking” practice that was just made revealed by...

New research reveals that Baltic amber was transported to the most westerly region of the continent more than 5,000 years ago

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

A team of scientists has identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that...

500-year-old board game discovered carved into a stone slab in a Polish castle

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

A board game carved into stone was discovered by archaeologists investigating the castle at Ćmielów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

Complex Of Early Neolithic Monuments Discovered In Herefordshire, England

22 July 2023

22 July 2023

Archaeologists discovered a remarkable complex of early Neolithic monuments while investigating the area around Dorstone Hill in Herefordshire, England. The...

2,700-year-old Unique Rock Tombs Disappear

18 July 2023

18 July 2023

The 2,700-year-old rock tombs, unique in Turkey, in the Taşköprü district of Kastamonu are in danger of extinction due to...

In Moravia, archaeologists discover divine thrones, thousands of artifacts and a new settlement

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

During a four-year dig in the Moravian city (Czech Republic) of Perov, rare gems, mysterious burial places, and divine thrones...

Ötzi the Iceman Had Dark Skin, Bald Head and Anatolian Ancestry -New study rewrites ancient history

17 August 2023

17 August 2023

New DNA analysis by German researchers shows that the famous glacier mummy Ötzi may have had dark skin, dark eyes,...

Researchers extract ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick

6 September 2023

6 September 2023

Researchers have successfully extracted ancient DNA from a 2,900-year-old clay brick, uncovering a wealth of information about the plant life...

An ancient bronze hand may be the oldest and longest example of Vasconic script

20 February 2024

20 February 2024

Researchers have discovered rare evidence of an enigmatic ancient language on a 2,000-year-old bronze hand. The inscription on the hand...

A Mysterious 1,800-year-old Roman Statue Unearthed During Car Park Construction Work in UK

13 March 2024

13 March 2024

A 1,800-year-old Roman marble statue of a woman’s head was discovered during construction in the parking lot of Burghley House...

An Anthropologist’s life work uncovers the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization

2 April 2023

2 April 2023

Chapurukha Kusimba, an anthropologist at the University of South Florida, has uncovered the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization,...

Iron Age stone altar and gold-plated ceremonial sword discovered in Kazakhstan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

A stone altar and a gold-plated ceremonial sword used in the early Iron Age were discovered during excavations along the...

Researchers excavating the burial site along Caleta Vítor Bay in northern Chile found an Inka Tunic or unku

15 February 2023

15 February 2023

A recently published study, co-authored by a research professor at George Washington University, looks at the Inka Empire’s (also known...