Most scientists believe that Homo sapiens arose in Africa around 200,000 years ago based on fossil evidence from the continent. The DNA analysis of modern humans points to evidence of humans migrating from Africa and spreading across the globe some 120,000 years ago.
However, a new analysis by experts at Texas A&M University in College Station and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing found that the Dali skull is astonishingly similar to two separate Homo sapien skulls previously found in Morocco.
“I really wasn’t expecting that. I think gene flow could have been multi directional, so some of the traits seen in Europe or Africa could have originated in Asia,” scientist Sheela Athreya told the New Scientist.
But the striking physical similarities point to the fact that the skulls found in Morocco and the one found in China share DNA with Homo sapiens.
This suggests that modern humans aren't exclusively descendants of Africans. Small groups of them may have migrated to Eurasia more than 200,000 years ago. From there, some of the Asian ancestors possibly moved back to Africa, where they mixed together with the native populations.
