Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
North and East Africa
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The gradual emergence of Homo sapiens from earlier human populations during the Middle and later Pleistocene, as represented by African fossils with mixed erectus-like and sapiens-like features. Moroccan finds from Salé, Littorina Cave, Sidi Abderrahman, Kebibat, and Thomas Quarry 1 and 2 are central to the evidence, alongside specimens from Kapthurin in Kenya and Lake Ndutu in Tanzania. The source stresses that the transition remains poorly resolved because fossil samples, stratigraphic contexts, absolute dates, and palaeoclimatic frameworks are incomplete or uncertain.
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Le récit
The origin of Homo sapiens is presented as an unresolved problem involving the source population, geographical setting, timing, and circumstances of differentiation. African Pleistocene fossils nevertheless provide evidence relevant to the earlier history of the species. Most researchers considered by the source regarded late Homo erectus populations as likely ancestors of Homo sapiens, although the temporal relationship between the two remains ill-defined.
The Moroccan littoral preserves a scattered series of finds attributed to the upper Middle Pleistocene. Specimens from Salé, Littorina Cave at Sidi Abderrahman, Kebibat near Rabat, and Thomas Quarry 1 and 2 near Casablanca show combinations of features: some retain an erectus-like cranial, jaw, or dental morphology, while others diverge toward the sapiens condition. Thorium–uranium measurements were used to estimate an overall span from approximately 0.3 to 0.1 million years, but the passage emphasizes the uncertainty of the chronology.
Eastern African evidence includes a mandible and postcranial remains from the Kapthurin Beds in Baringo, Kenya, and a partial cranium from deposits near seasonal Lake Ndutu in Tanzania. The Kapthurin specimen is associated with an Acheulian industry using lava worked with a proto-Levallois, or Victoria West, technique. Its age is disputed because an underlying lava suggests approximately 230,000 years while overlying tuffs produced a preliminary age more than twice as old.
The fossil evidence is not sufficient to define the transition conclusively. Early Upper Pleistocene and latest Middle Pleistocene human populations remain poorly known across Africa, while relative ages, stratigraphic contexts, cultural associations, absolute dates, and palaeoclimatic frameworks are often uncertain. The emergence of Homo sapiens therefore remains one of the major problems in human palaeontology.
Cᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
North and East Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The gradual emergence of Homo sapiens from earlier human populations during the Middle and later Pleistocene, as represented by African fossils with mixed erectus-like and sapiens-like features. Moroccan finds from Salé, Littorina Cave, Sidi Abderrahman, Kebibat, and Thomas Quarry 1 and 2 are central to the evidence, alongside specimens from Kapthurin in Kenya and Lake Ndutu in Tanzania. The source stresses that the transition remains poorly resolved because fossil samples, stratigraphic contexts, absolute dates, and palaeoclimatic frameworks are incomplete or uncertain.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The origin of Homo sapiens is presented as an unresolved problem involving the source population, geographical setting, timing, and circumstances of differentiation. African Pleistocene fossils nevertheless provide evidence relevant to the earlier history of the species. Most researchers considered by the source regarded late Homo erectus populations as likely ancestors of Homo sapiens, although the temporal relationship between the two remains ill-defined.
The Moroccan littoral preserves a scattered series of finds attributed to the upper Middle Pleistocene. Specimens from Salé, Littorina Cave at Sidi Abderrahman, Kebibat near Rabat, and Thomas Quarry 1 and 2 near Casablanca show combinations of features: some retain an erectus-like cranial, jaw, or dental morphology, while others diverge toward the sapiens condition. Thorium–uranium measurements were used to estimate an overall span from approximately 0.3 to 0.1 million years, but the passage emphasizes the uncertainty of the chronology.
Eastern African evidence includes a mandible and postcranial remains from the Kapthurin Beds in Baringo, Kenya, and a partial cranium from deposits near seasonal Lake Ndutu in Tanzania. The Kapthurin specimen is associated with an Acheulian industry using lava worked with a proto-Levallois, or Victoria West, technique. Its age is disputed because an underlying lava suggests approximately 230,000 years while overlying tuffs produced a preliminary age more than twice as old.
The fossil evidence is not sufficient to define the transition conclusively. Early Upper Pleistocene and latest Middle Pleistocene human populations remain poorly known across Africa, while relative ages, stratigraphic contexts, cultural associations, absolute dates, and palaeoclimatic frameworks are often uncertain. The emergence of Homo sapiens therefore remains one of the major problems in human palaeontology.
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