The largest collection of fossil human skeletons ever found in a site has given new information about the origin and evolution of Neanderthals, different species of early humans.
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| The skull reconstruction of a Neanderthal man from 430 thousand years ago. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1p8Tw11) |
The collection includes seventeen skulls from the Sima de los Huesos cave (Pit of Bones) in northern Spain. Described in the journal Science, a group of early fossil Neanderthal species from last year's 430 thousand or 100 thousand years earlier than previously reported.
The fossil skull shows a face and teeth of Neanderthal man, but not his skull. The combination of these features usually associated with more primitive hominid species.
Examples of fossil skulls support the theory that evolutionary changes arise at different times and not all at once. Research suggests modifications to the face, especially with regard to chewing function, is the first stage in the evolution of Neanderthals.
Juan-Luis Arsuago, lead author and a professor of paleontology at the Complutense University of Madrid was surprised to see the similarities of different individuals. "Other fossils from the same geological period was different and did not fit with the pattern found in the caves of Sima," said Arsuago.
"It shows more than one evolutionary lineage seems thidup together at the same time, and Sima sites represent one species that is almost similar to the Neanderthals," he added. Sima de Los Huesos site has been excavated continuously since the early 1980s with the discovery of nearly 7 thousand human bones and 28 complete skeletons. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | VOA NEWS]
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