Fossil Jaw Turns Back Clock on Human Evolution
12:08 minutes
The fossil record linking Australopithecus specimens like Lucy to Homo, the genus to which humans belong, is spotty. But a newly discovered fossil jaw provides a glimpse at that little-known time period between two and three million years ago, and pushes the date of Homo‘s appearance to 2.8 million years ago—400,000 years earlier than previous estimates. Brian Villmoare and colleagues describe the fossil in Science Express.
Segment Guests
Brian Villmoare
Brian Villmoare is an assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Fred Spoor
Fred Spoor is a paleontologist at University College London in London, England.
Chalachew Seyoum
Chalachew Seyoum is a graduate student at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
Related Links
- Fossil pushes back human origins 400,000 years
- Early Homo at 2.8 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia
- Late Pliocene fossiliferous sedimentary record and the environmental context of early Homo from Afar, Ethiopia
- Reconstructed Homo habilis type OH 7 suggests deep-rooted species diversity in early Homo
Meet the Producer
About Christopher Intagliata
@cintagliataChristopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.