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History
Since 2010 Prof. Liu Wu, Dr Wu Xiujie and Dr. Xing
Song from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP)
of Beijing and Dr. María Martinón-Torres and Prof. José María Bermúdez de
Castro from UCL and Atapuerca Research Team have been collaborating in understanding
the origin, evolution and dispersals of hominins in Eurasia.
Research
Several articles have been published in high-impact scientific journals,
including a hypothetical model to explain the hominin variability and settlement
of continental China and the morphological characterization of the dental
samples from Hexian, Yiyuan and Panxian Dadong, Xiujiayao and Daoxian. The
latter represents the earliest H. sapiens
in China and has forced us to reconsider previous models about the origins and
dispersals of our own species. As a whole, this research is highlighting the
importance of Eurasia as center of speciation and not a mere recipient of
out-of-Africa dispersals. Since 2013, this research is supported by the Chinese
Academy of Science, through the project "The comparison of hominin fossils
between China and Spain, and human origins and evolution in Eurasia" led by Professor
Liu Wu.