Is This Skull a Missing Link in the Human Family Tree?

The Narmada Hominid skull was found in central India 40 years ago, but it’s exact age and classification has mystified anthropologists ever since. Some classify it as an advanced Homo erectus, while others classify it as an archaic homo sapiens because of its large braincase, small browridge, and other features. Remarkably, the Understanding of human evolution in South Asia primarily rests on a solitary partial skullcap from Central India, but its disputed taxonomic status has blurred the picture of human migrations. The discovery provides the first scientifically recorded evidence of human skeletal remains from the Indian subcontinent, dating to the late Middle Pleistocene of 300,000 to 150,000 years ago. The large-brained, robust hominin appeared around 300 thousand years old, in association with mega terrestrial fauna and late Acheulean tool-kits. This dating is important, because if the skull is recognized as an archaic homo sapiens, that could throw a wrench in the Out of Africa hypothesis, and sup