This week, scholars writing in Science magazine announced a new date for the hominin Australopithecus sebida. Au. sebida was reported last year, with a bracketed date between 1.78 and 1.95 million years ago. The new date pushes Au. sebida to 1.977 mya, meaning that it is the oldest hominid fossils ever found.
But the story doesn't really end there: because Au. sebida, although currently classified as Australopithecus, has several important skeletal features that are more similar to our human ancestors, including hand, cranium and pelvic changes that are more commonly associated with Homo erectus.
How early is early?
The earliest probable H. erectus remains are from Swartkrans, 1.8-1.9 mya in Africa, and Dmanisi at 1.78-1.85 mya in the Republic of Georgia; the earliest firmly dated ones are from Koobi Fora in Kenya, at 1.88-1.9 mya.
The earliest evidence for H. habilis is A.L. 666-1, dated to 2.33 mya; but it is represented only by a fragmentary maxilla.
Whether or not Au sediba is truly the linchpin a to scholarly revamp of our entire human evolutionary tree is yet to be determined: but if there was ever a news story crying out for a photo essay, this is one.
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