A lower jaw discovered over a century ago in the Spanish township of Banyoles may represent the former document bearing ofmodern humansin Europe . Intriguingly , however , the lower jawbone does n’t quite mate up with that of any be intimate human metal money , indicate that the fossil ’s long - dead owner may have descended from a mysterious group ofunknown ancient hominids .
Unearthed in a quarry in 1887 , the Banyoles specimen is thought to be between 44,000 and 65,000 years erstwhile , and therefore hails from a prison term whenNeanderthalswere in their eclat . “ The mandible has been learn throughout the past century and was long considered to be a Neandertal based on its historic period and location , and the fact that it lack one of the diagnostic features ofHomo sapiens : a Kuki-Chin , ” enounce Binghamton University alum scholar and report author Brian Keeling in astatement .
Using a method called three - dimensional geometric morphometrics ( 3D GM ) , the researchers digitally reconstructed the missing parts of the old off-white , make a computerized simulation of the entire jawbone . In doing so , they were capable to compare the fossil to the jaw of both Neanderthals andHomo sapiens .
Comparison of the Banyoles mandible (center), with H. sapiens (left), and a Neanderthal (right). Image credit: Brian Keeling
“ Our outcome discover something quite surprising – Banyoles partake in no trenchant swinish traits and did not overlap with Neandertals in its overall shape , ” said Keeling . In fact , the authors write that “ The 3D GM analytic thinking clearly group Banyoles withH. sapiens ” in terms of overall physique , although the fact that it lacks a chin makes it difficult to portion the dodo to a specific metal money .
Bearing in mind that some ancientHomo sapienshad less pronounced lower jaw than the chinny humans range the Earth today , the written report writer decide to compare the Banyoles specimen to another of Europe ’s early modern human fossils , which hails from Peştera cu Oase in Romania .
late research on this mortal – experience as Oase 1 – has bring out that the specimen contains between six and nine percentage Neanderthal DNA , and was amodern human - boorish hybrid . Despite this , Oase 1 has a much more developed chin than Banyoles .
“ We were confronted with results that were telling us Banyoles is not a Neandertal , but the fact that it does not have a chin made us think double about assigning it toHomo sapiens , ” explained subject field author Rolf Quam . “ The comportment of a Kuki has long been considered a assay-mark of our own specie . ”
The sodding lack of Neanderthal features rules out the possible action of Banyoles representing aHomo sapiens - Neanderthal cross , leave behind the researchers with two plausible theories . The first of these is that Banyoles was a member of a previously unknown universe of modernistic humans that live at a metre when Europe was thought to have been populate only by Neanderthals , and which miss a proper mentum .
Alternatively , the specimen may be the result of hybridization betweenHomo sapiensand another completely unknown hominid species . However , the study author explicate that “ while the lack of chin structures in Banyoles might be explain by mix with a non - Neandertal archaic Homo shape , no such population has been identified in the Late Pleistocene European fossil record . ” In fact , the only other non - Neanderthal hominid rest in Europe predate Banyoles by around 300,000 year , all of which make it extremely improbable that innovative humans interbred with such a species .
Whether the specimen turns out to be a modern human being or not , the fact that it is not a Neanderthal is massively pregnant , as no other human species is thought to have existed in Europe at this metre .
“ If Banyoles is really a penis of our species , this prehistoric human would represent the earliestH. sapiensever document in Europe , ” said Keeling .
The inquiry is publish in theJournal of Human Evolution .
