Excavation of Human Ancestor Fossils Begins in South African Cave.
Quote:
The environmental instability of the time "creates a much more experimental world," Potts added. "Not a 'cradle of humankind'—that's too nurturing. I now prefer the term 'cauldron of humankind.'
"And it's much more of a series of broiling events and a churning process full of this sort of experimentation."
As the landscape changed, diversifying populations could meet back up and essentially jump back into the gene pool together, creating hybrids.
Potts doesn't suggest hybridization explains all the mixed characteristics in fossils like A. sediba, but says it's a piece of the puzzle that shouldn't be forgotten when trying to trace which species absolutely did or did not contribute to the human family line.
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So I guess there isn't one human line of ancestors.
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