Out of Africa... and into Russia

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2007

PARIS (AFP) — New research backs the theory that modern humans spread out of Africa relatively recently, around 50,000 years ago, on the first step of our species' conquest of the planet. The "Out of Africa" scenario is well known but only a few hominid fossils or artefacts have emerged to explain when the great trek began and how humans dispersed.

A find in Russia, though, and a fresh look at a skull discovered in South Africa more than half a century ago, offer new clues, scientists say. An international research team, delving into a site of ancient volcanic ash on the River Don around 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of Moscow, found teeth, stone and ivory tools that suggest Homo sapiens moved there some 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. The finds at Kostenki include perforated...