(CNN) When researchers published findings in June of the earliest Homo sapiens fossils ever discovered, the scientific community was abuzz.

Three-hundred-thousand years old, 100,000 years older than anything previously discovered, they stretched the timeline of Homo sapiens, our distant ancestors, further into the past. It left humanity with a new first chapter, blank and waiting to be written.

But it was where the fossils were found that was more intriguing still. Ethiopia was previously the site of the oldest Homo sapiens fossils, and East Africa has long been considered the "cradle of life." However, these new finds came from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.

A long-held anthropological narrative became more complex. What were these hominids doing on the other side of the continent? Had they evolved in isolation to sapiens in East Africa? What happened during these extra 100,000 years, and could we determine a new starting point for humanity?

Photos: This is a composite reconstruction of the oldest Homo sapiens fossils found in Morocco, using scans of original fossils found at the site. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: While the facial features appear more modern and comparative to ours, the brain case is elongated. This suggests that the brain shape and function evolved in these early Homo sapiens. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: This image provides two views of the pieces found and associated with one of the fossils, thought to be a young adult woman. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: This almost complete human mandible was a remarkable find for the researchers and its dental aspects are very similar to modern humans. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Being able to look at this mandible allowed the researchers to compare it to those of modern humans, as well as Neanderthals. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Before mining, the area of the excavation site was a cave where early hominins could take shelter and clean and cook the animals they hunted. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Jean-Jacques Hublin is pictured when he first saw the new finds at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco. He is pointing to the crushed human skull. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Stone tools recovered from the site reveal flint flakes shaped by early Homo sapiens with points and cores for more efficient hunting. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Two of the fossils, including a crushed skill and partial femur, can be seen in the center of this image. Hide Caption 9 of 9

Excavated from what was once a barite mine 250 miles from the capital Rabat, the fossils were sent for study to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. It was here in the thermoluminescence laboratory that advanced dating technology was used to determine the fossils' age.

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