Fossil discovery suggests humans originated in Europe, not Africa

A recent discovery in Türkiye is shaking up our understanding of human evolution. Scientists have identified a new fossil ape, Anadoluvius turkae, from an 8.7-million-year-old site near Çankırı.

This find challenges the long-held belief that human ancestors evolved solely in Africa, suggesting instead that Europe played a significant role in our evolutionary history.

The fossil, uncovered at the Çorakyerler site with support from Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, reveals that Mediterranean fossil apes were more diverse than previously thought.

These apes are part of the earliest known group of hominins, which includes not only African apes like chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas but also humans and their fossil ancestors.

Out of Africa? Maybe not

This discovery adds weight to the theory that the ancestors of African apes and humans may have evolved in Europe before migrating to Africa between nine and seven million years ago.

Professor David Begun from the University of Toronto and Professor Ayla Sevim Erol from Ankara University led the international team of researchers who conducted the study.

“Our findings further suggest that hominines not only evolved in western and central Europe but spent over five million years evolving there and spreading to the eastern Mediterranean before eventually dispersing into Africa, probably as a consequence of changing environments and diminishing forests,” explained Professor Begun.

“The members of this radiation to which Anadoluvius turkae belongs are currently only identified in Europe and Anatolia.”

Partial skull of Anadoluvius turkae

The conclusion drawn from the study is based on the analysis of a well-preserved partial cranium discovered in 2015.

This fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the braincase, providing valuable insights into the ape’s anatomy.

“The completeness of the fossil allowed us to do a broader and more detailed analysis using many characters and attributes that are coded into a program designed to calculate evolutionary relationships,” Begun explained.

“The face is mostly complete, after applying mirror imaging. The new part is the forehead, with bone preserved to about the crown of the cranium. Previously described fossils do not have this much of the brain case.”

Life of Anadoluvius turkae

Anadoluvius was roughly the size of a large male chimpanzee, weighing between 50-60 kilograms. This size is notably large for a chimp and is comparable to the average size of a female gorilla, which weighs around 75-80 kilograms.

The fossil suggests that Anadoluvius lived in a dry forest environment and likely spent a significant amount of time on the ground.

“We have no limb bones but judging from its jaws and teeth, the animals found alongside it, and the geological indicators of the environment, Anadoluvius probably lived in relatively open conditions, unlike the forest settings of living great apes,” said Professor Sevim Erol.

“More like what we think the environments of early humans in Africa were like. The powerful jaws and large, thickly enameled teeth suggest a diet including hard or tough food items from terrestrial sources such as roots and rhizomes.”

Sharing Earth with Anadoluvius turkae

The ecosystem in which Anadoluvius lived was similar to today’s African grasslands and dry forests. It coexisted with animals such as giraffes, warthogs, rhinos, diverse antelopes, zebras, elephants, porcupines, hyenas, and lion-like carnivores.

Research indicates that this ecological community likely dispersed into Africa from the eastern Mediterranean sometime after eight million years ago.

“The founding of the modern African open country fauna from the eastern Mediterranean has long been known and now we can add to the list of entrants the ancestors of the African apes and humans,” Erol added.

Why is this a big deal?

Anadoluvius turkae is positioned on the evolutionary tree alongside other fossil apes from nearby regions, such as Ouranopithecus from Greece and Graecopithecus from Bulgaria.

These fossils are the best-preserved specimens of early hominins and offer the strongest evidence to date that this group originated in Europe before moving into Africa.

The study’s detailed analysis shows that Balkan and Anatolian apes evolved from ancestors in western and central Europe.

This suggests that the entire group of hominins likely evolved and diversified in Europe, rather than separate branches moving independently into Europe from Africa over millions of years and then going extinct.

“There is no evidence of the latter, though it remains a favorite proposal among those who do not accept a European origin hypothesis,” Begun noted.

“These findings contrast with the long-held view that African apes and humans evolved exclusively in Africa. While the remains of early hominins are abundant in Europe and Anatolia, they are completely absent from Africa until the first hominin appeared there about seven million years ago.”

What happens next?

While the discovery of Anadoluvius turkae provides compelling evidence for a European origin of hominines, it does not definitively prove the theory.

More fossils from Europe and Africa, dating between eight and seven million years old, are needed to establish a clear connection between the two regions.

This new evidence supports the hypothesis that hominins originated in Europe and dispersed into Africa along with many other mammals between nine and seven million years ago, though it does not definitively prove it.

“For that, we need to find more fossils from Europe and Africa between eight and seven million years old to establish a definitive connection between the two groups,” Begun concluded.

Anadoluvius turkae and human origins

To sum it all up, if hominines did indeed originate in Europe, it could reshape our understanding of how and where humans evolved.

It also highlights the importance of fossil sites outside of Africa, which have been underexplored in the quest to trace human origins.

Anadoluvius turkae adds a new species to the fossil record while providing a fresh perspective on the evolutionary journey of hominins.

By bridging the gap between European and African fossil records, this discovery encourages scientists to revisit existing theories and consider new possibilities in the story of human origins.

As researchers continue to analyze the fossil and search for more evidence, the story of Anadoluvius turkae will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of where we come from and how we evolved.

The study is published in the journal Communications Biology.

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