Here Come The Homonids
I had previously anticipated (in mid-2010) that more human ancestors and cousins would turn up:
Based on recent discoveries, I wouldn’t be surprised if 6-10 human species are determined to have lived in the last 50,000 years – and I reckon an additional species for the last 10,000 years is quite likely.
http://survive2012.com/news/2010/07/siberia-hominin-530.html
Finding human fossils is a difficult task, and many species (if not widespread and long-lasting) would probably avoid being fossilized. So for every discovered species, there’s going to many more of which there is no record.
Newly discovered:
The fossilized remains of a partial foot has led scientists to speculate that there were several species of pre-humans living in Africa at the same time.
A team from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History discovered the eight bones from an unknown species of hominid in the central Afar region of Ethiopia.
…”On the one hand the foot has a very divergent big toe, a bit like a chimpanzee. So it was probably very good at grasping and climbing trees,” he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-29/fossilised-footprint-sheds-light-on-pre-humans/3921534
And this, also from this month:
The remains of what may be a previously unknown human species have been identified in southern China.
The bones, which represent at least five individuals, have been dated to between 11,500 and 14,500 years ago.
But scientists are calling them simply the Red Deer Cave people, after one of the sites where they were unearthed.
…In general, the individuals had rounded brain cases with prominent brow ridges. Their skull bones were quite thick. Their faces were quite short and flat and tucked under the brain, and they had broad noses.
The BBC article goes on to say there are three possibilities for where they came from:
- Evolved in Africa, moved to Asia
- Evolved in Asia
- Hybrid of prior human species
Attempts are being made to extract DNA from the remains. This could yield information about interbreeding, just as genetic studies have on the closely related human species – the Neanderthals and an enigmatic group of people from Siberia known as the Denisovans.
And their unearthing all adds to the fascinating and increasingly complex story of human migration and development.
