Broken Bones and Shattered Truths: A Reassessment of Fossil Record Bias in Human Prehistory

This study explores the systemic biases embedded in the human fossil record — from taphonomic filtering to geomagnetic and environmental erasure — and proposes a new, field-aware framework for understanding where undiscovered populations may lie. By incorporating geomagnetic data, ancient hydrology, and migratory niche modeling, we demonstrate that traditional interpretations of the fossil timeline are inherently skewed. The paper calls for a paradigm shift: from treating the Earth as a static archive to recognizing it as a dynamic filter of human evolutionary data. This reframing provides predictive guidance for future excavations and a deeper understanding of our hybrid origins.