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Palaeoanthropology

On the origin of our species

Nature volume 546, pages 212–214 (2017)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 15 June 2017

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Gaps in the fossil record have limited our understanding of how Homo sapiens evolved. The discovery in Morocco of the earliest known H. sapiens fossils might revise our ideas about human evolution in Africa. See Letters p.289 & p.293

Modern Homo sapiens share certain skeletal features that can also be recognized in fossil remains. These include a high, rounded braincase (the part of the skull that surrounds the brain), a small face tucked beneath it, and small, separated brow ridges (bone ridges above the eye socket). Our understanding of episodes in human evolution is mainly based on fossils and the available DNA. However, gaps in our knowledge remain about when and where H. sapiens evolved from ancestral humans within the genus Homo. On page 289, Hublin et al.1 report the earliest known H. sapiens fossils, and present an analysis of the size and shape of these remains. Accompanying dating evidence is provided by Richter et al.2 on page 293. The fossils, excavated with associated stone tools, provide crucial information about early steps in the evolution of H. sapiens.

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Figure 1: Skull-shape differences.

NHM London (CC-BY)

Figure 2: Jebel Irhoud, Morocco.

Shannon McPherron, MPI EVA Leipzig, License: CC-BY-SA 2.0

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  • 14 June 2017

    The fossil samples from which the authors deduced their results have been clarified.

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  1. the Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Chris Stringer & Julia Galway-Witham

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  1. Chris Stringer
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  2. Julia Galway-Witham
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Correspondence to Chris Stringer.

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Stringer, C., Galway-Witham, J. On the origin of our species. Nature 546, 212–214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/546212a

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