Morocco is home to the oldest known Homo sapiens fossils, discovered at Jebel Irhoud.
The Jebel Irhoud remains in western Morocco are dated to about 315,000 years ago, with an uncertainty of roughly 34,000 years. Their age pushed the accepted history of our species back by around 100,000 years compared with the older East African fossils traditionally used to represent early Homo sapiens.
The fossils are scientifically important because they combine a relatively modern face with a more elongated, primitive-looking braincase. That mixture suggests that the characteristic human skull evolved in stages and across populations spread throughout Africa, rather than appearing suddenly in one small East African birthplace. Stone tools found with the remains belong to the Middle Stone Age.
Jebel Irhoud was first excavated in the 1960s, but later work and improved dating transformed its significance. The fossils are not necessarily direct ancestors of every living human. Ethiopia’s Omo I fossils are also extremely important and younger, at roughly 233,000 years old, while other ancient hominins are older but are not classified as Homo sapiens.