Fossil teeth found in Germany could reshape human history

A 9.7-million-year-old canine has disfigured paleontologists: it does not seem to correspond to any hominid species described in Europe or Asia, but to our more primitive African ancestors.

In September 2016 a team of archaeologists found several teeth at a site near the town of Eppelsheim in Germany. It was not the first time fossil dental pieces were found, but one of them has turned out to be surprising: it does not belong to any of the species of European or Asian hominids described to date.

The tooth in question closely resembles those of our primitive African ancestors found in Ethiopia, but is even more ancient: the analyzes carried out by its discoverers have confirmed that it is about 9.7 million years old. These scientists explain in an early version of a study still pending publication.

It is a superior left canine whose morphology is very similar to the parts of the species of the group of the African hominis, among which the Australopithecus afarensis like the famous Lucy. However, it has been estimated that Lucy's skeleton is just over three million years old and, according to current theories, migration from Africa to Europe and Asia took place about 100,000 years ago.

The tooth was found together with another belonging to the same individual, a molar piece that does have characteristics similar to the species of the old continent. The pair is thus a great mystery that has disfigured paleontologists, who do not explain where the hominid could proceed.

The possibilities are several. On the one hand, it could be a species related to African hominids, but older than these, which would mean that they would have occupied Europe before Africa. On the other hand, the similarities of the canine could be the result of the convergent evolution, that is to say, produced by environmental and genetic factors that molded them of the same form in different species.

Although the finding is certainly important, the implications are unclear. While some scholars talk about the need to rewrite human history, others point out that the consequences are not as relevant and suggest that the teeth could belong to other distinct primate groups unrelated to Lucy.

However, it is only a matter of elucubraciones, since those responsible for the finding still have to complete their research and make new studies to know the true nature of the fossils.