A set of ancient human bones from Casablanca reshapes how we think about early human history. New research places a key ancestral population of modern humans and Neanderthals in northwest Africa around 773,000 years ago. The study draws on fossils, stone tools, and precise geological dating from a cave known as the Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I in Morocco.
The research team analyzed partial lower jaws from two adults and one child, several vertebrae, and many teeth. Tooth structure and jaw shape show a mix of older features seen in Homo erectus and newer traits linked to later humans. This pattern points to a population close to the shared origin of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. You see neither a clear match with Homo erectus nor with Homo antecessor from Spain, even though all groups lived around the same period.
Dating plays a central role in this work. The team tested 180 sediment samples from the cave and tracked a global reversal in Earth’s magnetic field known as the Matuyama–Brunhes transition. This event occurred about 773,000 years ago and provides one of the most reliable time markers available. Sediments holding the fossils formed during this reversal, giving you a rare level of chronological precision for African human remains from this era.
The cave served as a carnivore den during the Early Pleistocene. Bite marks on a leg bone suggest hyenas fed on human bodies. Stone tools found nearby link these people to early Acheulean technology, which spread across Africa more than one million years ago. Together, bones, tools, and sediments form a tight package of evidence tied to a specific moment in deep time.
For decades, fossil gaps between one million and 600,000 years ago limited efforts to trace human origins. Genetic studies placed the shared ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals within this window, yet physical remains stayed scarce. The Moroccan fossils narrow this gap and shift attention toward northwest Africa. You no longer need to look only to eastern or southern Africa for crucial stages of human evolution.
Comparisons with European fossils add another layer. Homo antecessor from Atapuerca in Spain shows early signs of Neanderthal traits. The Moroccan remains share some broad similarities in age and anatomy, yet detailed scans of tooth structure reveal clear differences. Internal tooth features, studied with micro-CT imaging, separate the Casablanca group from both Homo erectus and Homo antecessor. This result supports the idea of early population diversity across Africa and southern Europe rather than a single ancestral form.
The wider setting strengthens the case. The Atlantic coast near Casablanca preserves raised shorelines, dunes, and caves formed by changing sea levels. Rapid burial of sediments helped protect fossils and tools. Long-term fieldwork in this region has already documented early human occupations and environmental shifts. The new finds build on decades of careful excavation and stratigraphic study.
You gain a clearer picture of where the roots of modern humanity lie. The earliest confirmed Homo sapiens fossils date to about 300,000 years ago at Jebel Irhoud, also in Morocco. The Thomas Quarry hominins lived roughly half a million years earlier and show traits leading toward later humans. Genetic estimates place the split between modern humans and Neanderthals between about 765,000 and 550,000 years ago. The Moroccan fossils align with the older end of this range.
This evidence points to Africa as the deep source of our lineage, with northwest Africa playing a central role. Population movements across the Sahara during wetter phases likely linked regions rather than isolating them. For you as a reader, the message stays direct. Human evolution involved multiple African populations, long before the appearance of our own species, and northwest Africa now stands at the center of this story.
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