Do you know that?/You know what? The theory that mankind originated in Africa is rapidly disintegrating.

It is generally believed that the early human history can be traced back to an area called "cradle of human beings" in East Africa, because it plays a fundamental role in human evolution. However, the recent discovery of a footprint in Crete may complicate the existing story of human evolution.

According to the theory, this footprint may belong to a human ancestor who lived 5.7 million years ago, which means that human beings have been wandering on the continent outside Africa for much longer than archaeologists initially thought. This new development of human evolution theory is not the first evidence to overthrow the current "cradle of human beings" theory, which has existed since the middle of the 2th century, but it is of great significance in helping researchers build the most accurate model of human evolution.

when it comes to human ancestors, terms are easily confused. Humans, Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and about 15-2 known early human species. Because of too many terms, when discussing the theory of human evolution, it is easy to cause confusion when using the names of certain species.

The important terms to know are those in the human pedigree, which eventually evolved into Homo sapiens, the only surviving human species in modern times.

Before Homo sapiens, it was hominid, and its existing species was anthropoid ape. Neanderthals were the ancestors of primitive humans, but now they are extinct.

The author of a study in 217 claimed that a footprint of 5.7 million years ago was found in Crete, belonging to a biped human ancestor. Footprints show that this is a creature that walks on two feet. From the characteristics of footprints, it can be concluded that it may belong to human ancestors.

Because Crete is still a part of the Greek mainland-there is a pleasant climate from Africa to the Mediterranean-these early human beings may have traveled much earlier than previously thought, and they may have developed these characteristics independently.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of footprints of more evolved species, some people come to the conclusion that the journey of these ancestors did not end satisfactorily.

Charles Darwin is a naturalist who is famous for his theory of evolution. He was the first person to put forward the idea that human beings originated in Africa in the 19th century. Darwin knew that there were apes in Africa and read the anatomical studies at that time. He thought that humans and apes had the same ancestor, and he combined the two views.

decades later, more advanced genetics confirmed Darwin's theory, but it also brought some important problems. How and when did human ancestors leave Africa? How many scattered branches are there, and where have they all gone?

The footprint found in Crete is considered "controversial" because it tries to find loopholes in the answers to these questions.

fundamentally speaking, the theory of "going out of Africa" holds that all human beings are descendants of an early human group, which originated in Africa and spread to Europe and Asia over time. This is the most widely accepted explanation of how human beings came into being and when, where and how they dispersed from Africa.

This theory also holds that there is a clear migration route from Africa to Asia, Europe, and then to other parts of the world after a long time.

people seem to keep discovering that they claim to completely overturn the discovery of the existing theory of human evolution. There are many articles trying to debunk this theory. Fossils found in China, Bulgaria and Crete all challenge the idea that all human beings originated from a group, which made a migration out of Africa.

however, this is the scientific method. A theory or hypothesis can never be proved to be correct. People will continue to dig as much evidence as possible to reveal the closest truth. Behind all the most critical questions is: Where do we come from?

According to the existing theory, the time and place of travel of these Homo sapiens have a clear time axis, and all modern humans are the direct descendants of these African travelers. However, another specious theory is popular among those who are skeptical about "going out of Africa".

The multi-regional hypothesis holds that Homo sapiens, which originated in Africa, crossed with other species on other continents and created a new human pedigree. This means that not all human beings are descended from African Homo sapiens. This theory was supported by scientists in China, who discovered a jawbone fossil about 11, years ago, which seems to be the result of hybridization.

In understanding the subtle differences among many theories about human evolution, it is worth noting that scientists distinguish the origin of Homo sapiens from the pedigree of human evolution. Homo sapiens is the only surviving human species, and there is no doubt that this species can be traced back to Africa.

However, the origin of human descent is a question that scientists often debate. In 1944, an anthropoid tooth fossil was discovered in Bulgaria, which is estimated to be more than 7 million years old. Scientists nicknamed this creature "El Graeco" and speculated that this creature "may be the oldest known member of the human lineage, which began with the branch of chimpanzees, and chimpanzees are our close relatives." However, this will not weaken the view that Homo sapiens originated in Africa about 2, years ago, because El Greco's discovery only provides a basis for the view that early species in the human lineage may have originated outside Africa.

after analyzing more than 5, teeth of early human ancestors, some scientists concluded that not all modern ancestors came from Africa. Similar to the scientists in China who discovered mixed-race jaws, the analysis of these teeth led scientists to conclude that many immigrants actually came from Asia.

anthropologist Erik Trinkaus claims: "Teeth are the best genetic markers we have in the fossil record ... they are the closest reflection of individual genetic composition that we can get." And genetics is very important in determining ancestors and pedigrees.

Erik Trinkaus, a scholar, outlined three main migration modes of early human beings, especially from Africa to Europe. The first wave happened about 1.5 million to 2 million years ago, the second wave happened about 5, to 1 million years ago, and the third wave happened about 3, to 5, years ago, which is the last wave composed of the most modern human beings.

However, after the discovery of these 5 teeth, the second wave of migration research was questioned. Although scientists do not deny the occurrence of the second wave of immigration, they believe that at that time, another seemingly more important wave of immigration between Europe and Asia was ignored. This theory was used to explain their findings, which pointed out that many European ancestors came from Asia rather than Africa.

the theory of "going out of Africa" is unlikely to be completely exposed. This is the most popular theory since Darwin's first hypothesis, which is supported by a lot of genetic evidence. Each discovery adds and complicates the theory of "going out of Africa" in its unique way, and at the same time reveals other theories that have not been considered before.

Because of the nature of science, there are as many researches trying to debunk this theory as there are trying to support it. But as long as scientists continue to study and piece together the mystery of the origin of our species, they can provide us with more knowledge.