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00:04 "Out of Africa" is the phrase commonly used to explain the diaspora of humanity,
00:08 suggesting that our species first evolved there before spreading all over the globe.
00:12 However, now experts say a skull of an ape found in Turkey in 2015 could change that long-held notion.
00:18 This is a skull that belonged to a species called Anadoluvius turkey,
00:22 and the researchers say it's 8.7 million years old.
00:26 This challenges current theories about human evolution,
00:29 because humans and their ape ancestors weren't seen in Africa until 7 million years ago,
00:34 meaning this evidence predates previous finds,
00:36 suggesting the hominin line could have actually started in Europe, and rather migrated to Africa.
00:42 Paleoanthropologist and the study's co-senior author, Professor David Begun, told The Telegraph,
00:47 "Our findings further suggest that hominins not only evolved in Western and Central Europe,
00:52 but spent over 5 million years evolving there and spreading to the eastern Mediterranean
00:56 before eventually dispersing into Africa."
00:59 He adds that this move was likely due to changing environmental conditions,
01:02 specifically diminishing forests.
01:04 However, the researchers add that this is simply one piece of evidence,
01:07 and many more would be needed to overturn the long-standing "out of Africa" evidence we already have.
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