Human and ape ancestors arose in Europe, not in Africa, controversial study claims

Live Science ^ | late August 2023 | Charles Q. Choi

[SunkenCiv]

A newly described fossil suggests that the ancestor of humans and apes arose in Europe, not in Africa...

In the new study, the researchers analyzed a newly identified ape fossil from the 8.7 million-year-old site of Çorakyerler in central Anatolia. They dubbed the species Anadoluvius turkae. "Anadolu" is the modern Turkish word for Anatolia, and "turk" refers to Turkey.

The fossil suggests that A. turkae likely weighed about 110 to 130 pounds (50 to 60 kilograms), or about the weight of a large male chimpanzee.

Based on the fossils of other animals found alongside it — such as giraffes, warthogs, rhinos, antelope, zebras, elephants, porcupines and hyenas — as well as other geological evidence, the researchers suggest that the newfound ape lived in a dry forest, more like where the early humans in Africa may have dwelled, rather than in the forest settings of modern great apes. A. turkae's powerful jaws and large, thickly enameled teeth suggest that it may have dined on hard or tough foods such as roots, so A. turkae likely spent a great deal of time on the ground.

In the new study, the scientists focused on a well-preserved partial skull uncovered at the site in 2015. This fossil includes most of the facial structure and the front part of the braincase, the area where the brain sat — features that helped the team calculate evolutionary relationships...

The researchers suggest that A. turkae and other fossil apes from nearby areas, such as Ouranopithecus in Greece and Turkey and Graecopithecus in Bulgaria, formed a group of early hominines. This may, in turn, suggest that the earliest hominines arose in Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Specifically, the team contends that ancient Balkan and Anatolian apes evolved from ancestors in Western and Central Europe.

[aquila48]

“The fossil suggests that A. turkae likely weighed about 110 to 130 pounds”

For some reason that got me thinking about Thanksgiving...

[Openurmind]

The middle eastern and Chinese cultures were way ahead of the Europeans in technology.

[MinorityRepublican]

The middle eastern and Chinese cultures were way ahead of the Europeans in technology.

Up to Medieval Times. Then they got crushed by the Europeans.

[plain talk]

"The closest living relatives of humans are the apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons. We all had the same common ancestor that lived during the Miocene epoch (23 million to 5 million years ago). While scientists don't have any remains of this enigmatic creature, how might it have looked?"

[DFG]

I’m no kin to the monkey song:

I’m no kin to the monkey, no no no
And the monkey’s no kin to me, yeah yeah yeah
I don’t know much about his ancestors
But mine didn’t swing from a tree.

Although it’s so ridiculous
They’re teaching us now that it’s true.
The teachers that came from a monkey
Would be better off in a zoo.

I’m no kin to the monkey, no no no
And the monkey’s no kin to me, yeah yeah yeah
I don’t know much about his ancestors
But mine didn’t swing from a tree.

It seems so much more believable
And surely, surely it’s true
That God made man in his image.
No monkey story will do.

I’m no kin to the monkey, no no no
And the monkey’s no kin to me, yeah yeah yeah
I don’t know much about his ancestors
But mine didn’t swing from a tree.

This monkey business has got to go
Because it just isn’t true.
It’s such a disgrace to the monkey
A disgrace to the human race, too.

I’m no kin to the monkey, no no no
And the monkey’s no kin to me, yeah yeah yeah
I don’t know much about his ancestors
But mine didn’t swing from a tree.

[dfwgator]

So much for my reparations. I was going to claim being an “African-American”

[icclearly]

and when you consider the chances of that happening evolution itself is the proof of God.

My second response...

You know, in my mind, there is no significant disagreement with evolution and the Bible, which, among other things, tells us what God did -- but not necessarily how..

When the Bible tells us that God created man in his own image, that does not preclude the idea that he took something like a Neanderthal, Homo Erectus, or some other non-human predecessor and modified a gene or two and BANG, here we are -- so-called modern man.

[MinorityRepublican]

When the Bible tells us that God created man in his own image, that does not preclude the idea that he took something like a Neanderthal, Homo Erectus, or some other non-human predecessor and modified a gene or two and BANG, here we are -- so-called modern man.

Or maybe we all came from Polynesia.

[cowboyusa]

Nope, man was created BY GOD, he did NOT evolve. That is a devilish lie.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

But if you read the excerpt, it says these apes probably evolved from ancestors in Europe.

This is the New Science in a nutshell. Don't go where the evidence takes you, where the actual bones are. Go where you want the evidence to take you.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Eventually, the Europeans had to organize to survive the winters. So that's how they gained an edge over the rest of the world.

Recency bias. The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (nice climate empires) were far more advanced and powerful than their northern neighbors.

[dfwgator]

Recency bias. The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (nice climate empires) were far more advanced and powerful than their northern neighbors.

"Alright, but apart from that, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

[MinorityRepublican]

The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire (nice climate empires) were far more advanced and powerful than their northern neighbors.

And then they stagnated and collapsed.

Germany, America, England and Russia all came from harsh climates. Now they're most powerful nations.

India is a basket case.

[dfwgator]

There is something to having to deal with all four seasons.

[MinorityRepublican]

There is something to having to deal with all four seasons.

I agree. It forces a civilization having to plan ahead. Once you're able to do that, it's easier to build complicated stuff. Like rockets.

[dfwgator]

I agree. It forces a civilization having to plan ahead. Once you're able to do that, it's easier to build complicated stuff. Like rockets.

Makes me think of the show "Connections", if you've never watched it, I highly recommend it.

[MinorityRepublican]

I need to check that out. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

Germany, America, England and Russia all came from harsh climates.

So why does your theory only work in the past 500 years and not the last 2,500 years?

[MinorityRepublican]

That’s a good question.

[MinorityRepublican]

PING. Maybe SunkenCiv can answer your question.