
Europe was the birthplace of mankind, not Africa, scientists find - generic_user
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/22/europe-birthplace-mankind-not-africa-scientists-find/
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gumby
The linked Telegraph article is a bit more breathless (and meretricious) than
the actual PLOS article which doesn't make the same bold claims.

Then again, actually linking to the science paper is an improvement over
typical Telegraph practice so kudos to them for that, at least.

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touristtam
I had the same feeling seeing the article publisher. The Washington Post is
doing a better job: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-
science/wp/2...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-
science/wp/2017/05/22/ape-that-lived-in-europe-7-million-years-ago-could-be-
human-ancestor-controversial-study-suggests/)

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eveningcoffee
My first reaction was a jaw dropping "Whaat?", but it really gets better: _"
In 1944, German soldiers constructing a bunker in Greece uncovered a
fossilized jawbone."_ (from the WP link).

If we step away from this wonderland then it appears that so far there is a
single jaw from Greece dated to be about 7.2 millions old and belonging to a
unique primate specimen and there is a single tooth from Bulgaria believe
belong to the individual from the same species from the same time period.

Consensus seems to be that unless more evidence is found then it is more
convincing to believe in status quo. Involved parties are eager to look for
further evidence.

