At https://phys.org/news/2025-07-analysis-skhl-skull-oldest-human.html … an interesting post on a re-evaluation of the Skhl skull of an infant, unearthed in 1931 in a cave on Mount Carmel. It dates back 140,000 years ago – at the cusp of the last interglacial period. It is said to be a hybrid – a mix of Neanderthal with modern humans. This is the find that allowed an early migration of people to reach Australia – as early as 65,000 years ago. However, some people think that is too early and are determined to keep strictly to Out of Africa boundaries. Since the discovery the date of hybridisation has been put back – and put back again. At one point it was 300,000 years ago. How did they arrive at that date?
The skull became a topic of debate over its taxonomic classification. The idea of hybridisation seems to have settled the dispute down as it gives a little to one side and a little to the other side. A pragmatic solution. Nowadays it is widely attributed to Homo sapiens rather than Neanderthal. Over the past few years. paleogenetics and cranial-facial morphology has been updated, we are told, leading to the idea of hypbridisation. It was especially effective at dismissing one strain of thinking. That was that Aborigines may have been direct descendants of Homo erectus. That gave room to date the Aborigines way back into the past – but it was also regarded as racist. That is because it was thought Homo erectus were backward in relation to modern humans. The Homo erectus theory can be downloaded simply by keying aborigines + homo erectus into your search engine. Beware, however, as that argument is now invalid as Aborigines appear to have around 3 per cent Denisovan in their genome. Much the same proportion as modern Europeans and the people of western Asia with Neanderthals. Homo erectus probably lived a lot deeper in the past, whereas it is known that Denisovans were widely spread from central and eastern Asia to SE Asia, Indonesia and the Pacific islands. They are especially relevant to the people of New Guinea – who are akin to Aborigines in Australia. Not only that Denisovans, like the Neanderthals, disappeared as modern humans moved across the globe. Or that is the general motion of mainstream thinking.
This link makes it clear that the hybridisation theory is mainly based on cranial-facial morphology. That idea was debunked years ago as it led to a lot of racist steriotyping of primitives. It seems it is still alive and well. Does that mean there might not have been any hybridisation? As modern humans do not seem to have inherited any genes of hybrids as old as 300,000 year ago, or evne genes earlier than 50,000 years ago, one is led to think hybridisiation is indeed, a figment of imagination. It is not supported by the genome – apart from the fact modern humans in Europe and western Asia inherited 3 or 4 per cent of Neanderthal admixture. It has taken 50,000 years to reduce and virtually disperse altogther, one might think, but presumably Neanderthal genes are not unlike those of modern humans. If the hybridisation model rested on genetics it would be hard to argue against it. As it is based on cranial-facial morphology, one can be sceptical. This is the cat that was in the bag. We have got used to genetics upturning data that dominated thinking a few years back but pieces of ancient skull cannot necessarily be genetically analysed. Although teeth can – and certain other sections of the skull, if intact. Here, we can now see why hybridisation prior to 50,000 years ago, is thought to have been a blind alley. Cranial-facial morphology is still an important part and is why the period between 50,000 and 40,000 years ago is so important. Out of Africa actually preserves this threshold – although the dating is based on bayesian methodology rather than C14. This is because C14 is unable to bridge the Laschamp event at 42,000 years. Laschamp may also be responsible for mutations in animals – and humans. Incoming radiation as a result of migrations of earth;s magnetic poles.
Genetics came on to the scene after Out of Africa was already dreamt up. Aborigines are descendants of Denisovans – and so are the people of the Solomon Islands and New Guinea [and various others]. Modern Europeans and the people of western Asia are descended from Neanderthals – cousins of the Denisovans. We can only await Chinese deliberations on this and how they see their direct descent – from Neanderthal or Denisovan, or by some other means. If it is a more likely scenario and then western science, already harmed by political interference, may quickly be overtaken by the people of East Asia. Just as quickly as industry in the West was taken over by the Chinese.