(Asking Questions, Seeking Truthful Answers, and Searching for more Data)

Controversy of the Week from Newsweek publication:

Geneticists Studying Ancient DNA Discovered A Girl Whose Parents Were Two Different Species
By Suzi Marsh

At a laboratory in Germany, a researcher puzzles over a piece of ancient bone. Surely it can’t be true? This looks like something paleontologists thought they would never find: a hybrid between two of humanity’s early relatives. But there’s no mistake here. These remains come from a girl whose parents were from two entirely different species. And this breakthrough could well revolutionize what we know about our ancestors.

Longheld Suspicion

Scientists have long suspected that there was interbreeding between ancient humans. The chances of uncovering proof of this? Slim at best, or so the experts thought. Then researchers in a cave in Siberia stumbled upon a tiny fragment of bone. Initially, the team didn’t even realize that this came from a hominin – a term that just means “all the species regarded as human.” But soon an incredible story began to unfold.

Extracting DNA

Although the bone languished in obscurity for years, one intrepid researcher eventually found it and began to inspect it. The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology’s Viviane Slon also decided to try to extract DNA from the artifact. And what she found has turned decades of research on its head. Now, we have some exciting new truths about how ancient humans made their way in the world.

First Confirmed Hybrid

Why was the bone so important? Well, we know that a number of different species walked the Earth before and even alongside modern humans. This particular discovery marked the first time that a direct hybrid had been unearthed, however. It was history in the making, and so it’s no wonder that researchers reacted to the news with delight.

Prehistory Life

And there’s an incredible tale behind this fragment of bone – a story all about the human race. Today, all people belong to the same species, Homo sapiens, which first emerged approximately 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. But as prehistory buffs know, that hasn’t always been the case.

Australopithecines

The earliest known human ancestors were actually the Australopithecines. These were a number of different species that were capable of both climbing and walking on two legs. According to research, these distant relatives of Homo sapiens first emerged in Africa more than four million years ago. And, of course, they would have looked very different from how we appear today.

The Homo Species Begins

Next, scientists believe, the various species of Homo began to emerge. At first, they evolved longer legs that were better suited to running and walking. Then their brains began to grow. And these adaptations may have signaled a change in behavior, as these early humans began to hunt and take on a more carnivorous diet.

A New Look

Then, about 700,000 years ago, the species known as Homo heidelbergensis emerged in Africa and Eurasia. And experts have suggested that these hominins were much more like modern people in their appearance, laying the groundwork for how their descendants would evolve. They acted pretty differently from their predecessors, too.

Dying Out

Apparently, Homo heidelbergensis was likely more intelligent than those who had come before. Members used advanced tools and honed their hunting techniques, for example. Some even believe that individuals may have teamed up to bring down larger animals, which indicates a degree of social cohesion. But despite Homo heidelbergensis’ many strengths, the species still died out.

Modern Humans Emerge

You should know, though, that Homo heidelbergensis didn’t disappear from the Earth without leaving a trace. Far from it, in fact. An estimated 390,000 years ago, in the Middle Pleistocene era, a number of different species began to split off from this common ancestor. And from these branches, modern humans would ultimately emerge.

Interspecies Living

Of course, the story of mankind is one of rich and varied evolutionary history, with many species of hominin thought to have coexisted alongside one another over the millennia. And they didn’t just tolerate one another’s presence. For years, researchers have known that a degree of interbreeding took place between these different groups of early humans. Until the German discovery, however, no one could prove this for sure.

End of Part I
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