The hominin fossils discovered in the Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I in Casablanca, Morocco, are providing new evidence about the deep origins of Homo sapiens, suggesting that the ancestral lineage of modern humans was already present in Africa nearly 800,000 years ago. The fossils are similar in age to Homo antecessor from Spain but show a combination of primitive traits and derived features reminiscent of Eurasian archaic hominins and later Homo sapiens.
Reconstruction of Homo erectus.
Until now, paleoanthropologists have debated where the last common ancestor of modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans lived.
Genetic evidence suggests that this ancestor existed between about 765,000 and 550,000 years ago, but the fossil record has remained uncertain.
Some scientists had proposed a Eurasian origin, based in part on 950,000- to 770,000-year-old fossils from Atapuerca, Spain.
The new hominin fossils — partial mandibles, teeth, vertebrae and a fragment of a femur — from the Grotte à Hominidés strengthen the case for Africa.
An analysis of the surrounding sediments shows that the Moroccan fossils are from a time close to a major shift in the Earth’s magnetic field, about 773,000 years ago, giving them a similar age to Homo antecessor.
However, the new fossils are morphologically different from Homo antecessor, suggesting that regional differentiation between Europe and North Africa was already present by the late Early Pleistocene (around 1.8 million to 780,000 years ago).
The Moroccan fossils combine ancient features seen in species such as Homo erectus with more modern traits found in Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
For example, their molar size patterns resemble those of early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, whereas their mandible shape is closer to those of Homo erectus and other African archaic humans.
The Moroccan fossils may not be the last common ancestors to modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans, but may be close ancestors.
“The Moroccan remains likely represent an evolved form of Homo erectus in North Africa, but one that sits near the evolutionary split between African and Eurasian lineages,” the researchers said.
“Our findings highlight the Maghreb as a pivotal region for understanding the emergence of our species, reinforcing the case for an African rather than a Eurasian ancestry of Homo sapiens.”
The results were published today in the journal Nature.
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JJ. Hublin et al. Early hominins from Morocco basal to the Homo sapiens lineage. Nature, published online January 7, 2026; doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09914-y
