“We currently understood that the DAN5 fossil had a little brain, however this brand-new restoration reveals that the face is likewise more primitive than timeless African Homo erectus of the exact same antiquity,”stated Dr. Karen Baab, a paleoanthropologist at Midwestern University.

“One description is that the Gona population maintained the anatomy of the population that initially moved out of Africa roughly 300,000 years previously.”

For the research study, Dr. Baab and associates utilized high-resolution micro-CT scans of the 4 significant pieces of the DAN5’s face, which were recuperated throughout the 2000 fieldwork at Gona.

3D designs of the pieces were produced from the CT scans. The face pieces were then re-pieced together on a computer system screen, and the teeth were suited the upper jaw where possible.

The last action was ‘connecting’ the face to the braincase to produce a mainly total cranium.

“This is a really complex 3D puzzle, and one where you do not understand the precise result ahead of time,” Dr. Baab stated.

“Fortunately, we do understand how deals with fit together in basic, so we were not going back to square one.”

The research study reveals that the Gona hominin population had a mix of normal Homo erectus characters focused in its braincase, however more ancestral functions of the face and teeth usually just seen in earlier types.

The bridge of the nose is rather flat, and the molars are big.

The scientists identified this by comparing the shapes and size of the DAN5 face and teeth with other fossils of the exact same geological age, in addition to older and more youthful ones.

A comparable mix of characteristics was recorded formerly in Eurasia, however this is the very first fossil to reveal this mix of characteristics inside Africa, challenging the concept that Homo erectus progressed beyond the continent.

“The earliest fossils coming from Homo erectus are from Africa, and the brand-new fossil restoration reveals that transitional fossils likewise existed there, so it makes good sense that this types emerged on the African continent,” Dr. Baab stated.

“But the DAN5 fossil postdates the preliminary exit from Africa, so other analyses are possible.”

“This recently rebuilded cranium even more stresses the physiological variety seen in early members of our genus, which is just most likely to increase with future discoveries,” stated Dr. Michael Rogers, a paleoanthropologist at Southern Connecticut State University.

“It is amazing that the DAN5 Homo erectus was making both basic Oldowan stone tools and early Acheulian handaxes, amongst the earliest proof for the 2 stone tool customs to be discovered straight related to a hominin fossil,” included Dr. Sileshi Semaw, a paleoanthropologist at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana.

The findings appear today in the journal Nature Communications

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K.L. Baab et al2025. New restoration of DAN5 cranium (Gona, Ethiopia) supports intricate development of Homo erectus Nat Commun 16, 10878; doi: 10.1038/ s41467-025-66381-9