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than modern humans have been around. But all except our own species, Homo sapiens, turned out to be evolutionary dead ends. In the struggle for survival, our own forebears out-competed, out-thought and possibly slaughtered less versatile, less intelligent rival species. The last of our ancient cousins, the lumbering Neanderthals, coexisted with Homo sapiens in Europe and the Near East until about 25,000 years ago. They may even have mated with our forebears. Homo erectus survived until about 50,000 years ago, overlapping with both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. In the latest version of the story of human origins, we are members of a large family called “hominids,” which arose in Africa and included apes and humans. The apes and our ancestors parted ways about 6 million years ago. Our branch of the hominids eventually split into various subfamilies, tribes, genera and species. A species is a collection of creatures that can breed with one another. A genus is a closely related group of species. A tribe is a group of genera (the plural of “genus”). At last count, there were three tribes, five genera and 18 species assigned to the hominid family, including six extinct species of the genus Homo and us. Anthropologists don't all agree on the details of these classifications, but the general outline is broadly accepted. Orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and humans are the only survivors of these multiple evolu- tionary experiments. The question, said Potts, is “What allowed some hominids to endure while others died out?” Part of the answer is that Homo sapiens was better able than more specialized species to adapt to the rapidly changing climate of its homeland in Africa between 200,000 and 100,000 years ago, when what had been a warm, moist environment turned cold and dry. “Tf a species is tied to a given setting, it can be annihilated if the setting changes,” William Schopf, director of the Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in his book, “Cradle of Life.” In addition to its adaptability, the ability of Homo sapiens to use language was the key new behavior that let our ancestors prevail over their rivals, accord- ing to Ian Tattersall, curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Speech enabled our forebears to communicate and cooperate more effectively to hunt prey, escape pred- ators and pass on skills to the next generation. The Jinniushan cranium found in 1985 by a student excavation team from Peking University under the direction of Prof. Lu Zun'e, is one of the more recent fossil human specimens discovered in China. The cranium was directly associated with a partial skeleton, including a complete pelvis, portions of the spi- nal column, and nearly complete hand and foot bones. The remains were recovered from a collapsed limestone cave in Yingkou county, Liaoning. The human bearing deposits have been dated to approxi- mately 250-280,000 years ago. The Jinniushan cranium shows certain derived features that ally it to early forms of H. sapiens. These traits include a cranial capacity within the range of modern people, thin vault bones, an expansion of the parietal region, a more gracile cranial base and a more rounded occipi- tal bone, posteriorly. In other respects it shares features with H. erectus such as projecting brow ridges, low cranial height and an elongate, strongly buttressed cranial vault. In this oblique view many of the salient features of the Jinniushan cranium discussed above can be clearly seen. This cranium, as well as those from Dali and Maba to be discussed below display derived traits generally associated with H. sapiens yet are definitely more archaic looking than early modern humans. They may best be characterized as pre-modern forms of H. sapiens. Such “pre-modern” human specimens have only recently come to light in China. The presence of these transitional forms in China 294 Appendix D: Scientific Evidence The Adaptability Factor Pre-Modern Homo Sapiens Atlantis, Alien Visitation, and Genetic Manipulation