Who Was Ancestor X? The BIGGEST Mystery in Human Evolution

Around 650,000 years ago, the Earth entered one of the most hostile phases in its history. Humanity—or rather, the archaic hominins who would give rise to us—faced an unprecedented crisis. This split remains one of the great mysteries of human evolution. We do not know where it happened. We do not know what the last common ancestor looked like. And we are only beginning to understand how those ancient fault lines shaped the destiny of our species. As for where this mysterious ancestor lived, paleo-anthropologist Chris Stringer remains open, stating: "It could have been in Africa," he says. "But it could have been in Europe, or it could have been in west Asia. It could even have been in east Asia. We just don’t know yet."

SOURCES:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/...