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A New And Mysterious Ancient Human Ancestor Has Been Found

A New And Mysterious Ancient Human Ancestor Has Been Found

This is a pretty massive discovery.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Featured image credit: PA

This is exciting news if you're a bit of a science nerd, because researchers believe they have identified a new species of human.

It was previously believed that modern humans left Africa and entered the rest of the world to find Neanderthals and Denisovans, but new research seems to show that there may have been another human, too, the New Scientist reports.

Scientists made the discovery using genome mapping of living humans. After testing the DNA of living Papuans, indigenous Australians, people from the Andaman Islands and Indians, researchers found DNA that didn't match either the Neanderthals or Denisovans.

This DNA isn't present in living Europeans or east Asians so it's likely that this new human species met and mated in south Asia or the Pacific region.


Do you even lift, bro? Credit: PA

The man behind the research, Jaume Bertranpetit, from Pompeu Fabra University, Spain, says that the newly-discovered DNA could belong to homo erectus (ten points to you if you didn't laugh), as records indicate that there was an overlap between humans and homo erectus, and obviously they could have mated.

But it's impossible to prove either way (yet) because none of the homo erectus fossils currently unearthed have enough genomic data.

It's insane to think how far we've come as a species just to walk around staring at our phones hoping to catch mythical creatures, isn't it?

Words Claire Reid

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Science

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