Fossil ago back in time the origin of man – Voice of America

A fossil jawbone with five teeth intact 2.8 million years old unearthed in an Ethiopian desert is pushing back the dawn of mankind for half a million years.

Scientists reported that the fossil corresponds to the oldest known representative of the genus Homo human and appears to be a previously unknown species of man’s earliest stages.

Our species, Homo sapiens, appeared only 200,000 years ago, after a procession of others in the same genre.

So far, the oldest known remains of mankind were about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old, corresponding to Homo habilis.

“While it is probably a new species, we are waiting for more material before finally naming” said anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Brian Villmoare, who helped lead the study published in the Science .

The mandible was found in 2013 in the northeast region of Ethiopia, about 64 km from where the remains of “Lucy” was discovered, one of the most famous fossils of human ancestors in 1974.

The Lucy species, Australopithecus afarensis, immediately preceding the genus Homo.

The anatomy of the new fossil, which corresponds to the left side of the lower jaw suggests a close relationship with the species Homo later.

It has features like the shape of the teeth and jaw separating the species Homo more apelike Australopithecus. But his chin is relatively similar to Lucy.

“2.8 million years, this places the evolution of our genus close to three million years ago, which is the last time we see the Lucy species “Villmoare said.

The genus Homo, especially after two million years, developed a larger brain, using tools and began to eat meat.

The area where the individual who belongs lived jaw probably had some trees, like the plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania, with abundant grazing animals, hippos and crocodiles, according to geoscientist at Pennsylvania State University, Erin DiMaggio.

“If Homo was eating meat, I could have eaten any of the animals, but do not know much about it yet,” the anthropologist at Arizona State University, Kaye Reed. “It was a dangerous place. Sabertooth cats, hyenas and other large carnivores could be prey to Homo”.

Another study in the journal Nature provides a new analysis of a jaw Homo habilis lower 1.8 million years old, showing that it was unexpectedly primitive and more similar to the recently discovered ancient jaw.