00:00Out of Africa is the phrase commonly used to explain the diaspora of humanity, suggesting
00:09that our species first evolved there before spreading all over the globe.
00:12However, now experts say a skull of an ape found in Turkey in 2015 could change that
00:17long-held notion.
00:19This is a skull that belonged to a species called Anadoluvius turkey, and the researchers
00:23say it's 8.7 million years old.
00:26This challenges current theories about human evolution, because humans and their ape ancestors
00:31weren't seen in Africa until 7 million years ago, meaning this evidence predates previous
00:36finds, suggesting the hominin line could have actually started in Europe, and rather migrated
00:41to Africa.
00:42Paleoanthropologist and the study's co-senior author, Professor David Begun, told The Telegraph,
00:47quote,
00:48Our findings further suggest that hominins not only evolved in Western and Central Europe,
00:52but spent over 5 million years evolving there and spreading to the Eastern Mediterranean
00:56before eventually dispersing into Africa.
00:59He adds that this move was likely due to changing environmental conditions, specifically diminishing
01:04forests.
01:05However, the researchers add that this is simply one piece of evidence, and many more
01:08would be needed to overturn the long-standing out-of-Africa evidence we already have.
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