9.7 million year old teeth found in Germany

Dental remains found by German paleontologists prompt speculation that Europe, not Africa, was the true birthplace of humankind
By TOI staff 21 October 2017, 11:05 pm 10

9.7 million year-old fossilized teeth found in a former bed of the Rhine river (Mainz Natural History Museum)

The discovery of a set of 9.7 million-year-old teeth is leading some experts to posit that Europe may have been the true birthplace of humankind, and not Africa as previously thought.

Paleontologists from the Mainz Natural History Museum in Germany found the fossilized dental remains while sifting through sand in a former bed of the Rhine river. The teeth are said to resemble those of a skeleton of a human ancestor known as “Lucy” that was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. “Lucy,” however, was only 3.2 million years old.