Asia: Land of Human Origin?

[RedStarOverChina]

New discoveries in Myanmar, along with discoveries made in China back in 1994 are challenging the conventional theory that the human species originated in Africa.


Researches reported on Wednesday that fossils recently discovered in Myanmar might prove that the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia and not Africa.
However, other scientists say that the finding does not end the debate over the origin of anthropoids, which is the primate group that includes ancient species as well as modern humans.
Dr. Chris Beard, who is a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and a member of the team that found the fossils, said that the pieces of the 38 million-year-old jawbones and teeth found close to Bagan, Myanmar in 2005 show typical primate characteristics.
"When we found it, we knew we had a new type of primate and basically what kind of primate it was," Beard said in a telephone interview from Pittsburgh. "It turns out that jaws and teeth are very diagnostic. ... They are almost like fingerprints for fossils like this."

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1715043/fossils_might_change_human_origin_theories/index.html


Your thoughts?

[Misanthrope]

Very interesting. Hopefully further discoveries will be made to uphold this theory or dispell it.

[Revy]

actually, humans didn't exist at that time. if this were true then Asia would only be the place where "anthropoids" originated. Anthropoid being a very broad group which includes humans , apes and monkeys all descended from common ancestors like this one.

[phasmid]

http://www.makomati.com/index.htm

[ComradeOm]

And coincidentally new research (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8182371.stm) has challenged the notion that dogs were first domesticated in Asia. In fact it may have first occurred in Africa...