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yesterday

Moroccan Fossils Dated to 773,000 Years Fill Major Gap in Human Evolution

The Nature study points to an evolved Homo erectus population plausibly near the shared ancestor of later human lineages.

The mandible of an archaic human who lived about 773 000 years ago is seen during excavations at a cave called Grotte a Hominides at a site known as Thomas Quarry I in the southwest part of the Moroccan city of Casablanca, in this undated photograph released on January 7, 2026. J.P. Raynal, Programme Prehistoire de Casablanca /Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY MANDATORY CREDIT NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
The mandible of an archaic human who lived about 773 000 years ago is pictured after being excavated at a cave called Grotte a Hominides at a site known as Thomas Quarry I in the southwest part of the Moroccan city of Casablanca in this undated photograph released on January 7, 2026. J.P. Raynal, Programme Prehistoire de Casablanca /Handout via REUTERS
Image
Study coauthors Jean-Jacques Hublin (right) and Jean-Paul Raynal at the cave in May 2008 when one of the jawbones was uncovered.

Overview

  • An international team led by Jean-Jacques Hublin reports jaws, teeth, vertebrae and a femur from Grotte à Hominidés in Casablanca, Morocco.
  • Paleomagnetic analyses tie the fossil layer to the Matuyama–Brunhes reversal at roughly 773,000 years, providing unusually precise dating.
  • Micro-CT and morphometric work reveal a mosaic of primitive Homo erectus-like traits with features seen in early Homo sapiens or Neanderthals.
  • The finds fill a long-standing African fossil gap and are interpreted as a late Homo erectus form near the base of later African and Eurasian branches, with no new species proposed.
  • Similarities to Spain’s Homo antecessor raise the possibility of intermittent North Africa–Iberia connections, and taphonomy indicates the cave functioned mainly as a carnivore den.