Dmanisi skulls prove hominins left Africa 1.8 million years ago. Dmanisi site in Georgia (country) yielded fossilized skulls and stone tools dated to 1.8 million years ago Hominins had small brains but had already left Africa nearly 2 million years ago Shangchen in China contains stone tools dated to 2.1 million years ago, even older than Dmanisi
Fossils from Dmanisi, Georgia, show hominins with small brains had already departed Africa by 1.8 million years ago. Stone tools at Shangchen, China, date to 2.1 million years—older still. This suggests repeated migration waves, not one great exodus. Apidima Cave in Greece holds a Homo sapiens fragment at 210,000 years, while Misliya Cave in Israel shows modern humans outside Africa around 185,000 years ago. The picture emerging is far more complex than a single dispersal event.
Key Facts
- Dmanisi site in Georgia (country) yielded fossilized skulls and stone tools dated to 1.8 million years ago
- Hominins had small brains but had already left Africa nearly 2 million years ago
- Shangchen in China contains stone tools dated to 2.1 million years ago, even older than Dmanisi
- Pattern shows repeated waves of migration out of Africa over millions of years, not one great migration
- Apidima cave in Greece contains Homo sapiens skull fragment dated to 210,000 years ago
- Misliya Cave in Israel shows modern humans outside Africa around 185,000 years ago
Related site: Dmanisi — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Scientists Keep Finding Humans Where They Shouldn’t Be by Michael Button