New Age for the Human Ancestor Little Foot Puts Him Closer to Lucy
Source: New York Times
New Age for the Human Ancestor Little Foot Puts Him Closer to Lucy
APRIL 2, 2015
An ancient hominid known as Little Foot may have lived at roughly the same time as Lucy, another famous human forebear, a new study has found.
The research, published in the journal Nature, suggests that early hominids may have been far more diverse than previously thought.
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Now, an international team of researchers has turned to a dating technique that measures levels of aluminum and beryllium in the rock layer holding the fossil. Their conclusion: Little Foot is 3.67 million years old, about half a million years older than Lucy.
If accurate, the new estimate suggests that there may have been many different species of Australopithecus inhabiting a far greater range in Africa than previously thought.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/07/science/new-age-for-the-human-ancestor-little-foot-puts-him-closer-to-lucy.html
