John Hawks

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Ancient tooth proteins suggest link between Homo erectus and modern humans

As of September 2026: Questioned whether the teeth are actually Homo erectus

Six 400,000-year-old Homo erectus teeth from China have yielded the oldest hominin proteins ever recovered in East Asia. The proteins carry two mutations that tie these ancient humans to a single evolutionary lineage, and one of them also appears in Denisovans, an archaic human group that interbred with modern humans.

Updated Sep 11

Notable Quotes

If the males are much larger, differently developed, we don't know that we don't already have a male that we haven't recognized as Homo naledi.

from Homo naledi teeth lack male marker, raising burial and biology questions · Updated 1 hour ago

This population is not Homo erectus at all. It's Denisovans.

from Ancient tooth proteins suggest link between Homo erectus and modern humans · Updated Sep 11