Friday, November 22, 2013

The Caucasus - Possible Birthplace of the Human Species Line Leading to Modern Humans

With the new discovery of Homo erectus georgicus (the earliest human fossil found to date outside of Africa and the earliest Homo erectus yet found anywhere), the birth of the human species (via homo erectus) may be rewritten by science to have occurred about 1.8 mya in the Caucasus (as opposed to in Africa) from a species who then migrated to Africa (although I'm not sure how Homo habilis fits into the new picture). Homo erectus is the first human known by science to have used controlled fire - this scientific fact ties in perfectly with the ancient mythology of the Caucasus which tells us that it is here (in the Caucasus) where Prometheus gave humankind the gift of fire. The control of fire by humans is claimed by some scientists to have possibly occurred as early as 1.7 mya - close to the dating of Homo erectus georgicus fossil remains in Dmanisi, Georgia. I'm anxious to see what new discoveries the future holds to tell us about human origins, both archeologically and genetically.

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