拉筹伯大学研究人员在南非德里莫伦洞穴发现18具古人类化石，其中包括一具成年直立猿头骨碎片（DNH 127），将这一物种在南非的出现时间推前至约200万年前1。这一发现比原有认知提早了200,000年，此前人们认为直立猿最早的化石记录来自格鲁吉亚州德玛尼西地点，年代约为180万年前1。
发掘地点位于人类摇篮地区，现场遗存还包括大量粗壮南方古猿的化石，其数量是直立猿的10倍以上1。研究显示，在200,000年的时间跨度内（200万年至180万年前），粗壮南方古猿逐渐进化出更大的牙齿和更强的咀嚼肌肉，可能反映了它们在气候变化期间的适应过程1。与此相对，直立猿的脑容量增大、臼齿变小，这一特征可能表明其饮食结构发生了改变，进食更多肉类1；而粗壮南方古猿虽然脑容量仅略大于黑猩猩，但进化出巨大臼齿用于研磨和压碎坚硬食物1。相关论文已发表于《人类生物学年鉴》2026年第53卷第1期1。
Researchers from La Trobe University have unearthed evidence that fundamentally revises the timeline of human evolution in southern Africa. At the Drimolen Main Quarry site in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind region, scientists discovered 18 ancient hominin fossils, including cranial fragments from an adult Homo erectus specimen designated DNH 127, dated to approximately 2 million years ago 1. This finding pushes back the known emergence of Homo erectus in South Africa by 200,000 years, predating the previously earliest-known specimens from Dmanisi, Georgia, which date to around 1.8 million years ago 1.
The excavation revealed striking contrasts in the evolutionary strategies of two contemporary species. Robust australopithecines were far more abundant at the site, outnumbering Homo erectus by more than tenfold 1. Over a 200,000-year period spanning from 2 million to 1.8 million years ago, robust australopithecines underwent significant dental and muscular evolution, developing progressively larger teeth and more powerful chewing muscles, likely adaptations to climate-driven changes in food availability 1. In contrast, Homo erectus exhibited larger cranial capacity and smaller molars, suggesting a dietary shift toward increased meat consumption 1. The robust australopithecines maintained brain sizes only marginally larger than modern chimpanzees but evolved massive molars specialized for grinding and crushing hard foods 1. The findings were published in the Annals of Human Biology, volume 53, issue 1, in 2026 1.
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