Төв Туркийн Чанкыры сав газраас олдсон энэхүү чулуужсан олдвор нь хүний төрөл зүйлийн үүсэл гарлын талаарх шинжлэх ухааны маргааныг шинэ шатанд гаргаж байна.
Анкарагийн их сургуулийн судлаач Айла Севим-Эрол болон Торонтогийн их сургуулийн Дэвид Бегун нарын удирдсан баг 2015 онд Чоракьерлер хэмээх газраас олдсон энэхүү олдворыг Anadoluvius turkae хэмээн нэрлэж, шинэ төрөл зүйл гэдгийг тогтоожээ. Миоцений эриний сүүл үед хамаарах уг олдвор нь нүүр, эрүү, тархины хэсэг бүрэн хадгалагдсанаараа онцлог юм. Судлаачид 100 гаруй анатомийн шинж чанарт дүн шинжилгээ хийснээр уг амьтныг хүн, шимпанзе, горилла багтдаг гоминины (hominine) бүлэгт хамаарахыг тогтоожээ.
Anadoluvius turkae-гийн шүдний паалан зузаан, соёо нь харьцангуй жижиг байгаа нь хатуу, барзгар хоол хүнсээр хооллодог байсныг илтгэж байна. Энэхүү анатомийн онцлог нь Африкийн эртний австралопитекус (Australopithecus) төрлийн мичүүдийн шинжтэй төстэй юм. Тус олдвор нь Зүүн Газар дундын тэнгисийн бүс нутагт эртний мичийн олон төрөл зүйл зэрэгцэн оршиж байсныг баталж байна.
Судлаачдын үзэж буйгаар, эдгээр гомининууд нь Европт үүссэн байх магадлалтай бөгөөд хожим Африкт шилжин суурьшсан байж болзошгүй. Одоогийн байдлаар Африкт 7 сая жилийн өмнөх үеэс эртний гоминины олдвор олдоогүй байгаа нь Европ, Анатолийн бүс нутагт тэдний хувьслын түүх илүү эртнээс эхэлсэн байх таамаглалыг дэвшүүлэхэд хүргэж байна. Гэсэн хэдий ч энэ нь Африкийн үүслийн онолыг бүрэн үгүйсгэхгүй бөгөөд цаашид хийгдэх нэмэлт судалгаанууд энэхүү таамаглалыг батлах шаардлагатай юм.
Уг олдвор олдсон Чоракьерлер нь эртний тал хээрийн бүс байсан бөгөөд тэнд тахь, заан, анааш зэрэг амьтдын үлдэгдэл олдсон нь тухайн үеийн экосистемийн талаар тодорхой мэдээлэл өгч байна. Энэхүү нээлт нь гоминины бүлгийн хувьслын түүх Европын нутаг дэвсгэрт 2.3 сая жилийн турш үргэлжилж байсныг харуулж, хүний үүслийн талаарх дэлхийн шинжлэх ухааны ойлголтыг баяжуулж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A partial skull recovered from central Türkiye has added evidence to a major paleoanthropological debate: where the hominine lineage first developed. The specimen belongs to an unknown ancient ape species preserved in sediments dated to 8.7 million years ago. Much of the face, upper jaw, and braincase survives, making it unusually complete for the late Miocene.
The fossil came from Çorakyerler in central Anatolia’s Çankırı Basin, a site containing thousands of vertebrate remains. A team led by Ayla Sevim-Erol of Ankara University and David Begun of the University of Toronto described it in Communications Biology. Excavated in 2015, the skull represents a new genus and species named Anadoluvius turkae.
Researchers analysed more than 100 anatomical features to determine its evolutionary position. Their results place Anadoluvius among the hominines, including humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and extinct relatives. If correct, the discovery strengthens debate over whether early hominine evolution occurred in Africa, Europe, or both.
Teeth and Jaws Support Hominine Placement
Several features support the proposed classification. Anadoluvius had thick tooth enamel, relatively small canines, and a short, robust face. These traits are often associated with diets requiring strong chewing forces, including hard, abrasive, or gritty foods rather than soft forest fruits.
Its reduced canines are particularly notable. They fall below the range of most African apes and approach values seen in australopithecines, including Australopithecus afarensis. CT scans also revealed distinctive root anatomy. The distal roots of several lower premolars and the first molar are fused into single structures containing two canals. This configuration resembles Graecopithecus from Bulgaria but differs from Ouranopithecus from Greece.
Combined with differences in jaw proportions and molar size, these features led the researchers to identify at least three distinct late Miocene hominine genera in the eastern Mediterranean: Ouranopithecus, Graecopithecus, and Anadoluvius. Earlier fossils were too fragmentary to distinguish this diversity confidently. The Çorakyerler skull provided a stronger basis for comparison.
A European and Anatolian Fossil Record
Together, the study places Anadoluvius, Ouranopithecus, and Graecopithecus in a clade with African apes and humans, separate from the Asian great ape lineage represented by orangutans. The authors argue that the simplest explanation is that these eastern Mediterranean apes descended from earlier central and western European apes known as dryopithecins.
Under that interpretation, hominines had a long evolutionary presence in Europe before their documented appearance in Africa. No widely accepted African hominine fossils predate about seven million years ago, while the European and Anatolian record extends from roughly 9.6 to 7.2 million years ago and includes several taxa from Spain to central Anatolia.
The researchers therefore suggest that hominines may have evolved in Europe and later dispersed into Africa. Begun noted that members of this radiation are currently known only from Europe and Anatolia and may have originated farther west before spreading toward the eastern Mediterranean.
However, the study does not eliminate an African origin. An unknown African ancestor could have moved into Europe before the known fossil record began. The authors describe a European origin as more parsimonious based on current evidence, but acknowledge that missing fossils could change the interpretation.
The diversity of late Miocene hominines in Europe and Anatolia spans at least 2.3 million years. The authors compare this pattern with the later diversification of australopithecines in Africa. That similarity may indicate a prolonged regional evolutionary history rather than a brief migration, although it cannot establish the true geographic origin by itself.
Life in an Open Environment
The environment inhabited by Anadoluvius was unlike the dense forests occupied by many modern apes. Fossils from Çorakyerler include giraffes, zebras, elephants, antelopes, porcupines, and large carnivores. This community suggests open woodland and dry grassland resembling modern African savannas.
Stable isotope evidence from an Anadoluvius tooth is consistent with consumption of C3 plants and indicates cooler, drier conditions than at some European fossil sites. Sevim-Erol argued that the ape’s anatomy also fits life in relatively open habitats.
Its strong jaws and thick enamel may have helped it process tough foods such as roots and tubers, which can become important in seasonal environments. However, no limb bones have been recovered, so researchers cannot yet determine how much time it spent on the ground or in trees.
The habitat reconstruction connects Anadoluvius with broader patterns in early hominine evolution. Several early African hominins are associated with mixed or open environments, while reduced canines and thick enamel are often linked to dietary changes. These similarities do not prove that Anadoluvius was directly ancestral to African hominins, but they show that comparable adaptations existed in the eastern Mediterranean much earlier.
The broader animal assemblage also strengthens the geological interpretation of the site. Hipparionine horses, bovids, and proboscideans commonly occur in open Miocene environments across Eurasia and Africa. Çorakyerler therefore offers not only an important primate fossil but also a detailed view of central Anatolia’s late Miocene ecosystem.
Where the Debate Stands
The dominant model of human evolution continues to place hominine origins in Africa, supported by fossil and genetic evidence. That conclusion is especially strong for later stages, including the evolution of the hominin clade and the emergence of Homo sapiens.
Anadoluvius turkae does not overturn that framework. Instead, it provides a clearer picture of ape diversity in the eastern Mediterranean several million years earlier. Fossils from Greece, Bulgaria, and Türkiye now indicate multiple related genera living across the region.
The study’s phylogenetic analyses repeatedly grouped these apes with African apes and humans rather than orangutans. Yet the authors stress that broader phylogenetic work and additional fossils from both Africa and Eurasia are needed. The Çorakyerler specimens remain curated at Ankara University for future comparison.
The discovery establishes that eastern Mediterranean great ape diversity was richer than previously recognized. It also shows that several hominine-like lineages were present before the first documented African hominins. Whether those apes represent the birthplace of the hominine lineage or a secondary Eurasian radiation from unknown African ancestors remains unresolved.
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