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23h ago

Moroccan Fossils Dated to 773,000 Years Sit Near the Base of the Homo Sapiens Lineage

A clear paleomagnetic signal ties the cave layer to Earth’s last polarity reversal, giving the assemblage an unusually firm place in the Middle Pleistocene record.

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 reports jawbones, teeth, vertebrae and a femur from Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I on the outskirts of Casablanca.
  • Magnetostratigraphy capturing the Matuyama–Brunhes reversal fixes the age at about 773,000 years with uncommon precision for this timeframe.
  • Mandibles show Homo erectus–like form, while tooth size and enamel–dentine junction features align with early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, indicating a mosaic anatomy.
  • The authors interpret the remains as an evolved North African H. erectus population near the split from Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages, without proposing a new species or a definitive last common ancestor.
  • A gnawed femur and other evidence indicate a carnivore den context, as the finds help fill a major African fossil gap between one million and 600,000 years and elevate the Maghreb’s role in early Homo evolution.