By RFIPosted on 08-28-2019Today on 28-08-2019 at 20:05
Archaeologists from a team at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History have discovered a new Australopithecus skull estimated at 3.8 million years old. A discovery in the region of Afar in Ethiopia, reported Wednesday, August 28, the prestigious journal Nature.
After Lucy , the Afar region of Ethiopia continues to be fertile in Australopithecus fossils. But unlike his illustrious predecessor, this skull does not belong to the species afarensis but anamensis, older. His individuals lived between 4.2 and 3.9 million years ago. At least, it was thought.
Because this skull is younger than 100,000 years old. The difference is not insignificant, because it implies that both species lived at the same time. It was assumed until then that one had replaced the other.
The exceptional conservation of this skull fossil has also helped to reconstruct the face of this Australopithecus anamensis. The researchers were able to notice that this temporal proximity was reflected in its features.
There are similarities between Lucy and this individual. But even more interesting, this one has points in common with groups of even older and primitive human ancestors.
Does this mean that he has served as a hyphen? Or that anamensis and afarensis shared a common ancestor? There are still many unanswered questions. Research on this skull nearly 4 million years old will continue.
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