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Rare human fossil found

WASHINGTON: Chinese and U.S. researchers have reported the finding of an approximately 40,000-year-old early modern human skeleton in China, indicating that the ``Out of Africa'' dispersal theory of modern humans may not be as simple as was previously thought. The findings were published on Monday on the online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Hong Shang, from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Washington University, St. Louis, and colleagues examined a skeleton recovered from Tianyuan cave in the suburb of Beijing. The skeleton dates to 42,000 years, making it the oldest modern human skeleton in China. Based on this, the researchers say it is unlikely that a simple eastward spread of modern humans from Africa occurred, especially because slightly younger skeletons have been found in eastern Eurasia with similar mixes of features. — Xinhua

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