What evidence suggests that Homo sapiens were spread across Africa by 315,000 years ago?

The evidence suggesting that Homo sapiens were present in Africa 315,000 years ago comes from a collection of fossils unearthed at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.21

Discovered during excavations led by the Max Planck Institute, these remains include skull fragments, a complete jawbone, and associated stone tools. The jawbone and skull fragments exhibit features strikingly similar to those of modern human beings.21

While some paleontologists classify these specimens as "protomodern" or representative of the root of the H. sapiens lineage—noting they retain a primitive appearance reminiscent of H. heidelbergensis—the discovery is significant because it predates previously known H. sapiens remains in East Africa by more than 100,000 years. Consequently, this evidence suggests that the species may have been widely dispersed throughout the African continent much earlier than previously expected, challenging the long-standing notion that East Africa was the sole "cradle of humankind".231