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Simplified phylogeny of Homo sapiens for the last two million years. Genetic evidence suggests that a species dubbed Homo heidelbergensis is the last common ancestor of Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens. This common ancestor lived between 600,000 and 750,000 years ago, likely in either Europe or Africa.
In Europe, Homo heidelbergensis is known to have consumed the largest megafauna species present in the region, the straight-tusked elephant (which has been found at numerous sites with cut marks and/or stone tools indicating butchery) [45] and rhinoceroses belonging to the genus Stephanorhinus. [46]
Homo heidelbergensis was first discovered in 1907 near Heidelberg, Germany and later also found elsewhere in Europe, Africa, and Asia. [31] [32] However it was not until 2013 that a specimen with retrievable DNA was found, in a ~400,000 year old femur found in the Sima de los Huesos Cave in Spain. The femur was found to contain both mtDNA and ...
It is one of the key specimens for Homo heidelbergensis. It has not been dated directly, and is estimated to be roughly 0.5 million years old. [1] The remains, which included a fragment of lower jaw, were found on an exposed surface between shifting sand dunes on the farm Elandsfontein, which is located near Hopefield, South Africa.
According to the Sahara pump theory evidence suggests that the genus Homo have migrated out of Africa at least three and possibly four times (e.g. Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis and two or three times for Homo sapiens). Recent evidence suggests these dispersals are closely related to fluctuating periods of climate change. [245]
H. heidelbergensis from about 0.4 Ma develops its own characteristic industry, known as Clactonian. H. heidelbergensis is closely related to Homo rhodesiensis (also identified as Homo heidelbergensis sensu lato or African H. heidelbergensis), known to be present in southern Africa by 0.3 Ma.
However, genetic evidence from the Sima de los Huesos fossils published in 2016 seems to suggest that H. heidelbergensis in its entirety should be included in the Neanderthal lineage, as "pre-Neanderthal" or "early Neanderthal", while the divergence time between the Neanderthal and modern lineages has been pushed back to before the emergence of ...
Evidence in the form of genetic analysis suggests that the Sima de los Huesos hominins were ancestral to later Neanderthals. Subsequently, there is debate about whether to include them within Homo heidelbergensis or whether they represent early members of Homo neanderthalensis .