Twenty years ago, scientists discovered a 7-million-year-old skull that they concluded belonged to a creature who walked upright and was our earliest known ancestor. Not everyone was convinced. Now, the researchers are back with more evidence they say strengthens their case.
August 27, 2022
Twenty years ago, scientists discovered a 7-million-year-old skull that they concluded belonged to a creature who walked upright and was our earliest known ancestor. Not everyone was convinced. Now, the researchers are back with more evidence they say strengthens their case.
Their new study published Wednesday analyzed arm and leg fossils found near the skull in Africa, looking for signs of walking on two feet instead of on all fours. When early humans started walking upright, it marked a key moment in our split away from apes
In the paper in the journal Nature, researchers again place the creature just on the human side of that evolutionary divide. The fossil species, named Sahelanthropus tchadensis, walked upright while still being able to climb around in trees, they reported.
The species has been dated to around 7 million years ago, which makes it the oldest known human ancestor, by a long shot. That’s about a million years older than other early known hominins.
