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34,000-year-old jaw is the oldest known fossil of modern man
Washington, Sept 23: US researchers believe the jaw of a man found in Romania, dating back 34,000-36,000 years, is the oldest such fossil of a modern human.
Washington, Sept 23: US researchers believe the jaw of a man found in Romania, dating back 34,000-36,000 years, is the oldest such fossil of a modern human.
Found in February 2002 in a cave where bears hibernated in the Carpathian Mountains in southwest Romania, the jaw was radiocarbon dated by a team led by Erik Trinkaus, an anthropology professor at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri.
"The jawbone is the oldest directly dated modern human fossil. Taken together, the material is the first that securely documents what modern humans looked like when they spread into Europe," Trinkaus said in proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
"Although we call them 'modern humans,' they were not fully modern in the sense that we think of living people," he wrote.
The jaw is generally similar to "modern" specimens found in Africa, the Middle East and later on in Europe. But differences, such as the bigger teeth, indicate a possible link to Neanderthal man.
"The jawbone is the oldest directly dated modern human fossil. Taken together, the material is the first that securely documents what modern humans looked like when they spread into Europe," Trinkaus said in proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
"Although we call them 'modern humans,' they were not fully modern in the sense that we think of living people," he wrote.
The jaw is generally similar to "modern" specimens found in Africa, the Middle East and later on in Europe. But differences, such as the bigger teeth, indicate a possible link to Neanderthal man.
Trinkaus said that at this time, the first modern humans were sharing the planet with the last of the Neanderthals.
"The specimens suggest that there have been clear changes in human anatomy since then. The bones are also fully compatible with the blending of modern human and Neanderthal populations.
Other fossils found in the same cave in June 2003 are being studied.
Bureau Report