As we reported recently, scientists have determined that some ancient teeth dug up at an excavation site near Mainz, Germany are 9.7 million years old and probably belong to a human ancestor. But what most people don’t realize is just how revolutionary this find is, and how it could change our understanding of our evolution and migration around the globe.

Current evolutionary theory holds that mankind evolved from apes in Africa over millions of years, and it wasn’t until about 100,000 years ago that Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa and then spread across the continent of Asia about 60,000 years ago.

This find would completely turn that theory on its head. If the teeth are indeed from a hominin, at 9.7 million years old that would indicate humans would have been in Europe far, far before any timeline any scientific study has put forward.

Of course, there are some caveats. For one thing, it’s not 100 percent confirmed that the teeth are from a hominin, although scientists are pretty confident. It’s also possible that even if there were some hominins who made it to Europe, there wasn’t a widespread migration. But even so, it’s still an incredibly surprising finding.

“I don’t want to over-dramatize it, but I would hypothesize that we shall have to start rewriting the history of mankind after today,” Mainz mayor Michael Ebling said in a press conference announcing the discovery.