773,000-Year-Old Moroccan Fossils: Strongest Candidate for the Last Common Ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans – Could Ancient DNA Rewrite the Textbook?

In a landmark Nature paper published January 2026, an international team led by Jean-Jacques Hublin has unveiled the oldest securely dated hominin fossils from North Africa—three partial mandibles (including one from a child), teeth, vertebrae, and a femur fragment—from Thomas Quarry I, Casablanca, Morocco. High-resolution magnetostratigraphy ties them precisely to the Matuyama-Brunhes geomagnetic reversal, yielding an age of 773,000 ± 4,000 years ago.

This places the specimens squarely inside the genetic window (765–550 ka) estimated for the last common ancestor (LCA) of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans. Morphologically, they blend Homo erectus-like archaic traits with emerging Middle Pleistocene features, positioning them as a distinct African lineage near the root of the sapiens-Neanderthal-Denisovan clade.

“This fossil offers essential clues about the last common ancestor and reinforces a deep African origin for our species,” Hublin stated. The discovery fills a critical gap in the African record and overturns Eurasian-centric models that placed the LCA later or farther north.

While not yet proven as “the” LCA without ancient DNA, these remains are currently the strongest chronological and morphological match. Researchers are now attempting to extract ancient proteins and, if possible, DNA from the dental calculus and bone. A positive result could confirm the African LCA hypothesis and force a complete rewrite of human origins textbooks.

The Thomas Quarry hominins push the African “cradle” narrative back nearly half a million years. If DNA analysis succeeds, it may finally reveal the face—and the genes—of our shared ancestor.