A series of recent stunning palaeontological discoveries are suggesting that Africa was not the sole cradle of humankind. Scientists have found a handful of ancient human skulls at an archeological site two hours from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, that suggest a Eurasian chapter in the long evolutionary story of man. The skulls, jawbones and fragments of limb bones suggest that our ancient human ancestors migrated out of Africa far earlier than previously thought and spent a long evolutionary interlude in Eurasia – before moving back into Africa to complete the story of man. Experts believe fossilised bones unearthed at the medieval village of Dmanisi in the foothills of the Caucuses, and dated to about 1.8 million years ago, are the oldest indisputable remains of humans discovered outside of Africa. But what has really excited the researchers is the discovery that these early humans (or “hominins”) are far more primitive-looking than the Homo erectus humans. The only human fossil to predate the Dmanisi specimens are of an archaic species Homo habilis, found only in Africa, which used simple stone tools and lived between about 2.5 million and 1.6 million years ago.
