 Based on these circumstances—the chronological delineation from the more recent Neanderthal on the one hand, and from older fossils, denoted as "Homo erectus" on the other—today's researchers consider it justifiable to declare Mauer 1 as an independent chronospecies.According to Chris Stringer, "Homo heidelbergensis" ranks separable between earlier "Homo erectus" and the more recent Neanderthal and "Homo sapiens"; it is from this point of view the last common ancestor of Neanderthal and anatomically modern man.Other researchers hold the contrary view that the evolutionary development in Africa and Europe was a gradual process from "Homo erectus" via the representative of the findings assigned to "Homo heidelbergensis" towards Neanderthal.