Unraveling Human Evolution's Hidden Threads The discovery of molecular evidence in 400,000 year old Homo erectus teeth from China has shed new light on a long standing question in human evolution: how this ancient species contributed to the genetic makeup of later human groups.
For years, scientists have grappled with the scarcity of molecular data from H. erectus fossils, leaving their role in human origins shrouded in mystery.
A breakthrough came courtesy of a team led by Fu Qiaomei at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).