The findings, published in Nature, fill a critical gap in the African fossil record during a period when researchers believe our last common ancestor with Neanderthals and Denisovans existed. For decades, anthropologists have debated where and when these lineages split, with estimates ranging from 765,000 to 550,000 years ago. The Moroccan fossils now provide tangible evidence from this mysterious transitional period.
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One of the mandibles uncovered in Morocco. (© J.P. Raynal, Programme Préhistoire de Casablanca)
Dating the Fossils Through Earth's Magnetic Field
What makes these fossils particularly significant is the precision with which they can be dated. The research team, led by Jean-Jacques Hublin from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, used a clever geological trick to determine their age, reports New Scientist. Earth's magnetic field periodically reverses polarity, leaving unmistakable traces in sedimentary layers around the world. The sediments surrounding these fossils formed exactly during the last magnetic field reversal, which occurred 773,000 years ago and lasted between 8,000 to 11,000 years.
This precise dating places the Moroccan specimens as contemporaries of Homo antecessor, a species found in Spain that some researchers had previously considered a possible common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals. However, the Moroccan fossils show distinct differences from their European cousins, suggesting that multiple populations existed across the Mediterranean region during this period, possibly exchanging genes across the Strait of Gibraltar.
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Researchers Jean-Paul Raynal and Fatima Zohra Sihi-Alaoui at the excavation site. (R. Gallotti, Programme Préhistoire de Casablanca)
A Mosaic of Ancient and Modern Features
The physical characteristics of the Moroccan fossils reveal a fascinating evolutionary story. While the overall shape of the mandibles resembles that of Homo erectus and other African archaic humans who lived between 1.89 million and 110,000 years ago, specific dental features recall those of early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Matthew Skinner, a co-author from the Max Planck Institute, explained that analysis of the enamel-dentine junction consistently shows these hominins to be distinct from both Homo erectus and Homo antecessor.
This mosaic of traits suggests these ancient Moroccans represent an intermediate population that hadn't yet fully developed the characteristics that would define later human lineages.
"The fossils from the Grotte à Hominidés may be the best candidates we currently have for African populations lying near the root of this shared ancestry," Hublin stated, "thus reinforcing the view of a deep African origin for our species."
The discovery supports the notion that the Homo sapiens lineage emerged firmly within African populations descended from Homo erectus, rather than arising in Europe or Asia as some alternative theories have suggested.
Antonio Rosas, a researcher at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid who was not involved in the study, noted that the findings indicate modern humans may have split off the evolutionary tree earlier than commonly thought. This has profound implications for understanding how human populations dispersed across Africa and eventually into other continents.
Evidence of Predation and Ancient Ecosystems
One particularly intriguing detail emerged from the fossil assemblage: a hominin femur bears clear evidence of having been gnawed on by carnivores. This suggests that the remains may have been the unfortunate leftovers of a predator's meal, providing a sobering reminder of the dangers faced by our ancient ancestors. Such taphonomic evidence helps researchers understand not just the biology of these hominins, but also their ecological context and the challenges they confronted in their environment.
The presence of these fossils in Morocco fills a significant gap in the African fossil record between 1 million and 600,000 years ago, precisely when paleogenetic studies indicate that the ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans branched off from the lineage leading to Homo sapiens. While Neanderthals went on to dominate Europe for hundreds of thousands of years and Denisovans traveled as far as East Asia, Homo sapiens continued to evolve in Africa before eventually spreading across the globe.
Chris Stringer from the Natural History Museum in London suggested that while the last common ancestor of these lineages might have lived outside Africa, even in that scenario, the later evolution of Homo sapiens still occurred on the African continent. The new Moroccan fossils may even represent an early sapiens ancestor in Africa, though more skeletal material would be needed to definitively assign them to a specific species.
Top image: Mandible fossil discovered at Grotte à Hominidés showing both primitive and modern dental features. Source: Hamza Mehimdate/ Programme Préhistoire de Casablanca
By Gary Manners
References
Gizmodo. 2026. 773,000-Year-Old Fossils Add a New Twist to Humanity's Deep Origins. Available at: https://gizmodo.com/773000-year-old-fossils-add-a-new-twist-to-humanitys-deep-origins-2000705094
Hublin, J.-J. et al. 2026. Early hominins from Morocco basal to the Homo sapiens lineage. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09914-y
New Scientist. 2026. Hominin fossils from Morocco may be close ancestors of modern humans. Available at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2510396-hominin-fossils-from-morocco-may-be-close-ancestors-of-modern-humans/
Rosas, A. 2026. Of all the quarries: Casablanca fossils reveal African ancestors of Homo sapiens. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03986-6
