Scientists have long been discussing the place of Homo antecessor, an extinct human species of about 1.2 million years, in human evolution. Now, the findings from the tooth enamel of a Homo antecessor from 800,000 years ago can help complete one of the missing links in human evolution. Researchers in Denmark say their work shows that Homo antecessor is a ‘sibling group’ of modern humans’ last partner relatives. Dr. of the University of Copenhagen, who is the lead author of the study. “The ancient protein analysis provides very important evidence for the close relationship between Homo antecessor, Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans,” says Frido Welker. Our results support the assessment of Homo antecessor’s thesis that the class including Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans is the ‘sister group’. Skeletal remains of the Homo antecessor species Homo antecessor sample was first found in 1994 in Sierra de Atapuerca, an archaeological site in the north of Spain. Using a method called Palaeoproteomics for the analysis of genetic material that was determined to be 800,000 thousand years ago, the researchers say it is much older than any human DNA found to date. Molecular sequencing allows scientists to gain evidence that will push human evolution backwards than ever before. “This study represents an exciting milestone in the field of paleoproteomics,” said Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen of the University of Copenhagen, the author of the study. Using the state-of-the-art mass spectrometry, we have determined the sequence of amino acids in protein residues in the enamel of Homo antecessor. He then compared it with that of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens to determine how they were genetically related. ” Researchers say that human and chimpanzee lineages diverged about nine to seven million years ago. Scientists have been trying to unravel the timeline of human evolution since this genetic branch was discovered. New studies show that the facial features of Homo antecessor are very similar to those of Homo sapiens; He confirms that Neanderthals and their newer ancestors were very different from those. Scientists are now investigating what else we can learn about our evolutionary history through new DNA sequencing methods.
