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Long before man and Neanderthals survive side by side in Europe , two other species of early man were coexisting in Africa , a controversial Modern study claim .
Researchers work in Kenya have bump evidence thatHomo habilissurvived C of grand of days longer than previously think and coexisted with another early human species , Homo erectus .
The particularly small Homo erectus find, shown from above with the large skull from Olduvai (Tanzania) to demonstrate the gorilla-like size variation of the species.
" There was more than one mintage of early human race for an prolonged geological period of time in East Africa , " said study squad phallus Frank Brown of the University of Utah .
Ian Tattersall , a paleoanthropologist at the American Museum of Natural account in New York City , aver the new fossils bear subsist grounds that more than one mintage ofHomo , the genus to which our species belong , inhabit Africa about 1.5 million years ago .
" This is definitely grounds for two coexist lineages , " said Tattersall , who was not involved in the discipline .
The discoveries , detailed in the Aug. 9 issue of the journalNature , could force scientists to rethink the evolutionary relationship between the two species . But some scientists are skeptical of the newfangled claim .
sis species
H. habilisis the earliest known penis of the genusHomo . AndH. erectuswas the first human ancestor to resemble modern human beings . Due to the many overlaps in their frame , it was previously remember thatH. erectuswas descended fromH. habilis . While that might still be the instance , the new determination open up the possibility that theH. habilisandH. erectusonce divvy up a common ascendant from whom they split .
The researchers identified one of the fossil as a 1.44 million - year - honest-to-goodness fond lower jaw belonging toH. habilis . Prior to the find , the most recentH. habilisfossil was a 1.6 million - year - former specimen discovered by paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey and his team in 1984 and dubbed " Turkana Boy . "
The other dodo uncovered at the situation is a 1.55 million - yr - older helmetflower undoubtedly belonging toH. erectus . Its small size compared to other knownH. erectusskulls indicates the metal money might have been sexually dimorphic , with males physically larger than females . Most sexually dimorphic primates , such as gorillas and baboons , tend to twin with multiple partners , so it ’s possibleH. erectus didas well , the research worker say .
The two fossils were disclose in 2000 in eon - sure-enough volcanic ash in the Illeret part of Kenya , just east of Lake Turkana where Richard Leakey made his breakthrough .
According to received theory , H. erectusevolved fromH. habilis , perhaps by way of an medium known asH. ergaster . The relationship betweenH. erectusand us , Homo sapiens , is murky and controversial . According to the " Out of Africa " human migration framework , H. erectuswas the first other homo to leave Africa in substantial numbers , but it was later replaced by members ofH. sapiens , which made the same journeying .
consort to an alternative thought of ourspecies ' stemma , the dot bands ofH. erectusthat in the first place leave Africa at the same time evolve intoH. sapiensin different parts of the world .
Peaceful coexistence
Scientists thinkNeanderthalsand modern humans compete with each other , with the destruction upshot being that our mintage is the only member ofHomoleft on the major planet . In contrast , H. habilisandH. erectus , appear to have avoided clashing with one another .
" The fact that they abide freestanding as private metal money for a long time suggests that they had their own ecological recession , thus deflect unmediated rivalry , " aver subject squad phallus Meave Leakey , Richard Leakey ’s wife .
Based on the shape of their jaws and tooth , scientist conceive the diet ofH. habilisincluded more botany and less meat thanH. erectus . This is similar to the situation between gorilla and Pan troglodytes today : Both ape live in the same habitats , but gorillas eat more tough veg than Pan troglodytes , who are expert hunter .
Not fully confident
The raw finding raise the hypothesis thatH. erectusandH. habilisare actually sis mintage come down from a common ancestor who live 2 to 3 million years ago . " Their carbon monoxide - existence create it unlikely thatH. erectusevolved fromH. habilis , " Leakey said .
However , it ’s also potential thatH. erectusevolved from a small ring of isolatedH. habilisand the two species continued to last side by side for several hundreds of K of age afterwards , said Tim White , a paleoanthropologist at the University of California , Berkeley .
White , who was not involved in the subject , tell he is not in full convinced the unearthed lower jawbone does indeed belong toH. habilis , and he thinks many of his fellow worker will be sceptical as well . " It ’s going to be quite a controversial title , " clean toldLiveScience . " There ’s a groovy deal of convergence in not only size but also shape betweenH. erectusandH. habilis , so their title that this isH. habilisis potential to be viewed very skeptically by the community "
" The head that people are going to be require is very simple : How do you know this is not the upper jaw ofH. erectus ? Since the two are so similar in their jaw and teeth , " White added . " And the other thing aboutH. habilisis that it is not a in particular well delineate or well known species even after almost 50 years after its find . "
