Overview
- An international team reports mandibles from two adults and an infant, additional teeth, vertebrae and a femur from Thomas Quarry I’s Grotte à Hominidés near Casablanca.
- CT scans and anatomical comparisons reveal a mosaic of archaic Homo erectus–like and more derived traits consistent with a position basal to the Homo sapiens lineage.
- The authors, writing in Nature, stop short of naming a new species and suggest the remains likely represent an evolved form of Homo erectus sensu lato in North Africa.
- Taphonomic evidence shows the cave was used by large carnivores, with coprolites and bite marks including on the human femur, indicating some remains were consumed.
- The findings were published Wednesday and unveiled at a Rabat press event with Morocco’s culture minister, as outside experts welcome the data but stress that the last common ancestor reflects populations and requires more fossils and comparisons, including with Atapuerca.