2026年1月7日出版的《自然》杂志发表了德国科学家的一项最新研究成果。来自摩洛哥国家考古与遗产科学研究所的Abderrahim Mohib团队揭示了从摩洛哥到智人谱系的早期人类。

在这里，课题组研究人员描述了在摩洛哥卡萨布兰卡托马斯采石场I（ThI-GH）的人类洞穴中发现的新的人类化石，其年代约为77.3万年。这些化石在年代上与人类祖先相似，但在形态上却截然不同，表现出原始特征和衍生特征的结合，使人联想到后来的智人和欧亚古人类。ThI-GH人族提供了在摩洛哥Jebel Irhoud发现的最早的智人个体之前的非洲人口的见解，并提供了非洲血统祖先的有力证据。这些化石为尼安德特人和丹尼索瓦人最后的共同祖先提供了线索。

研究人员表示，古遗传学证据表明，现代人类的最后共同祖先尼安德特人和丹尼索瓦人生活在距今76.5万-55万年左右。然而，这些人类祖先的地理分布和形态仍然不确定。来自西班牙阿塔普尔卡大多利纳TD6层的人类祖先化石，可追溯到950万-77万年前，被认为是这一祖先种群的潜在候选者。然而，但所有年代确凿早于9万年前的智人化石均发现于非洲或亚洲门户地带，这有力地表明它们的物种起源于非洲，而不是欧亚。

附：英文原文

Title: Early hominins from Morocco basal to the Homo sapiens lineage

Author: Hublin, Jean-Jacques, Lefvre, David, Perini, Serena, Muttoni, Giovanni, Skinner, Matthew M., Bailey, Shara E., Freidline, Sarah, Gunz, Philipp, Ru, Mathieu, El Graoui, Mohssine, Geraads, Denis, Daujeard, Camille, Davies, Thomas W., Kupczik, Kornelius, Imbrasas, Mykolas D., Ortiz, Alejandra, Falgures, Christophe, Shao, Qingfeng, Bahain, Jean-Jacques, Queffelec, Alain, Gmez-Olivencia, Asier, Benazzi, Stefano, Le Cabec, Adeline, Sorrentino, Rita, Bergmann, Inga, Sbihi-Alaoui, Fatima-Zohra, Gallotti, Rosalia, Raynal, Jean-Paul, Mohib, Abderrahim

Issue&Volume: 2026-01-07

Abstract: Palaeogenetic evidence suggests that the last common ancestor of present-day humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans lived around 765–550 thousand years ago (ka)1. However, both the geographical distribution and the morphology of these ancestral humans remain uncertain. The Homo antecessor fossils from the TD6 layer of Gran Dolina at Atapuerca, Spain, dated between 950ka and 770ka (ref. 2), have been proposed as potential candidates for this ancestral population3. However, all securely dated Homo sapiens fossils before 90ka were found either in Africa or at the gateway to Asia, strongly suggesting an African rather than a Eurasian origin of our species. Here we describe new hominin fossils from the Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I (ThI-GH) in Casablanca, Morocco, dated to around 773ka. These fossils are similar in age to H. antecessor, yet are morphologically distinct, displaying a combination of primitive traits and of derived features reminiscent of later H. sapiens and Eurasian archaic hominins. The ThI-GH hominins provide insights into African populations predating the earliest H. sapiens individuals discovered at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco4 and provide strong evidence for an African lineage ancestral to our species. These fossils offer clues about the last common ancestor shared with Neanderthals and Denisovans.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09914-y

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09914-y