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How old are the Homo sapiens fossils found at Jebel Irhoud?
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Homo sapiens
Human beings (Homo sapiens) are anatomically similar and related to the great apes but are distinguished by a more highly developed brain and a resultant capacity for articulate speech and abstract reasoning.
The Homo sapiens fossils discovered at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco are dated to approximately 315,000 years ago.12
These specimens, which include skull fragments and a complete jawbone, are considered by many paleontologists to be "protomodern" rather than fully modern humans. Because they possess a primitive appearance reminiscent of a highly evolved Homo heidelbergensis, some researchers hesitate to classify them as early modern humans, suggesting instead that they represent individuals at the root of the Homo sapiens lineage.2