Rare human fossil found

WASHINGTON: Chinese and U.S. researchers have reported the finding of
an approximately 40,000-year-old early modern human skeleton in
China, indicating that the ``Out of Africa'' dispersal theory of
modern humans may not be as simple as was previously thought. The
findings were published on Monday on the online issue of the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Hong Shang, from the
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese
Academy of Sciences and Washington University, St. Louis, and
colleagues examined a skeleton recovered from Tianyuan cave in the
suburb of Beijing. The skeleton dates to 42,000 years, making it the
oldest modern human skeleton in China. ****Based on this, the
researchers say it is **unlikely that a simple eastward spread of
modern humans from Africa occurred**, especially because slightly
younger skeletons have been found in eastern Eurasia with similar
mixes of features.**** — Xinhua