Jawbone Found in England is from the Earliest Known Modern Human in Northwestern Europe (IMAGE)

Penn State

Jawbone Found in England is from the Earliest Known Modern Human in Northwestern Europe

Caption

This is an interior view of Kent's Cavern in England, where a piece of jawbone belonging to an early modern human was found. A piece of jawbone excavated from this prehistoric cave is the earliest evidence for modern humans in Europe, according to an international science team. New dating of the bone, which shows that it is between 44,000 and 41,000 years old, is expected to help scientists pin down how quickly modern humans spread across Europe during the last Ice Age. It also helps to confirm the much-debated theory that early humans coexisted with Neanderthals. More information is online at http://www.science.psu.edu/news-and-events/2011-news/Shapiro10-2011-2.

Credit

Steve B. Chamberlain

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