Anthropologists have revised the date and place of appearance of the first humans
An international team of anthropologists has revised the date and place of appearance of the first representatives of Homo (humans). Two related studies published in the journal PLOS ONE, and briefly about them, reports University of Toronto (Canada).
Fragments of the remains of two members of the same species Graecopithecus freybergi found on the Balkan Peninsula, allowed us to conclude that the separation of the Homo in a separate genus within the subfamily Homininae (hominini) occurred at approximately 7.2 million years ago in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Kind of Graecopithecus freybergi, according to experts, was one of the first representatives of the genus of people (or preceded it). Scientists believe that the formation of Homo contributed to the migration of the ancient primates from North Africa that took place because of drought.
To such conclusions scientists have analyzed the anthropological features of the surviving fragments of ancient people (the mandible and the premolar of the upper jaw), as well as having radioscopy analysis accompanying geological deposits (dust and salts).
Previously, scientists believed that the first humans appeared six or seven million years ago in Africa, where it was discovered representative of the genus Sahelanthropus is another precursor of the first Homo.
According to the currently accepted systematics of Homo, which includes Homo sapiens, together with the genera Pan (chimpanzee) and Gorilla (gorilla) constitute the subfamily Homininae, which, together with the Ponginae (pongine) is the family Hominidae (hominids). Currently it includes seven extant species closest to Homo sapiens (the person reasonable) is Pan paniscus (bonobos).