New Fossils Indicate Early Branching of Human Family Tree

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

Fossil by fossil, scientists over the last 40 years have suspected that their models for the more immediate human family tree -the single trunk, straight as a Ponderosa pine, up from Homo habilis to Homo erectus to Homo sapiens -were oversimplified. The day for that serious revision may be at hand.

The discovery of three new fossil specimens, announced on Wednesday, is the most compelling evidence yet for multiple lines of evolution in our own genus, Homo, scientists said. The fossils showed that there were at least two contemporary Homo species, in addition to Homo erectus, living in East Africa as early as two million years ago.

Uncovered from sandstone at Koobi Fora, badlands near Lake Turkana in Kenya, the specimens included a well-preserved skull of a late juvenile with a relatively large braincase and a long, flat face, which has been designated KNM-ER 62000 (62000 for short). It bears a striking resemblance to the enigmatic cranium known as 1470, the center of debate over multiple lineages since its discovery in the same area in 1972.

Read more: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/science/new-fossils-indicate-offshoots-in-human-family-tree.xml

[brooklynite]

1. And all in the last 10,000 years? Amazing!

[blackspade]

2. Great stuff.

Even in Archaeology, which covers the last 10,000 years or so, we have found that the complexity of ancient people both culturally and materially is much higher than many folks give them credit for.