AFRICA NO LONGER BIRTHPLACE OF HUMANITY (NOW MAINLY FAMOUS AS BIRTHPLACE OF EBOLA)

Graecopithecus freybergi: Europe wins again!

The anthropological world is in shock after two fossils of an ape-like creature which had human-like teeth were found in Bulgaria and Greece, dating to 7.2 million years ago. 

The discovery of the creature, named Graecopithecus freybergi, and nicknameded ‘El Graeco' by scientists, proves that our ancestors were already evolving in Europe 200,000 years before the existence of the earliest-known African hominid. 

The research behind this discovery was published in the scientific journal PLOS One and blows conventional theories of human evolution out of the water. A more dumbed down account of the research can be found here.

Essentially the findings mean that the history of human evolution will have to be completely rewritten, with Africa no longer in the prime position as birthplace of the human race. 

Previously it had been thought that our human lineage split from apes around seven million years ago in central Africa, where hominids remained for the next five million years before venturing further afield. This outdated "Out-of-Africa" theory now looks about as believable as the primitive belief that the Sun orbits the Earth every day, or the quaint notion that if you keep sailing West you will sail off the edge of the world.

While the new discoveries will improve our understanding of our ancient origins, they will also be a big blow to African pride. 

Up until now, Africa's main claim to fame was that it had, at one point, served as the "nursery of mankind." With this theory now BTFOed, the continent's main claim to global relevance is sadly reduced to being the home of the killer flesh-eating virus Ebola and other interesting wildlife. What a come down!