{"id":469803,"date":"2022-07-02T16:10:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-02T13:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/early-human-ancestors-one-million-years-older-than-thought\/"},"modified":"2022-07-02T16:10:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-02T13:10:01","slug":"early-human-ancestors-one-million-years-older-than-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/early-human-ancestors-one-million-years-older-than-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"#Early human ancestors one million years older than thought"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bc02924a99\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bc02924a99\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/early-human-ancestors-one-million-years-older-than-thought\/#%E2%80%9CEarly_human_ancestors_one_million_years_older_than_thought%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Early human ancestors one million years older than thought&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CEarly_human_ancestors_one_million_years_older_than_thought%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Early human ancestors one million years older than thought&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/quotlittle-footquot-on.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/quotlittle-footquot-on.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"&quot;Little Foot&quot; one of several well-known fossils found at Sterkfontein caves in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/quotlittle-footquot-on.jpg\" alt=\"&amp;quot;Little Foot&amp;quot; one of several well-known fossils found at Sterkfontein caves in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind\" title=\"&quot;Little Foot&quot; one of several well-known fossils found at Sterkfontein caves in South Africa's Cradle of Humankind.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                &#8220;Little Foot&#8221; one of several well-known fossils found at Sterkfontein caves in South Africa&#8217;s Cradle of Humankind.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their East African relatives like the famous &#8220;Lucy&#8221;, according to new research.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\">\n         <!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>The Sterkfontein caves at the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Among them was &#8220;Mrs Ples&#8221;, the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus found in South Africa in 1947.<\/p>\n<p>Based on previous measurements, Mrs Ples and other fossils found at a similar depth of the cave were estimated to be between 2.1 and 2.6 million years old.<\/p>\n<p>But &#8220;chronologically that didn&#8217;t fit,&#8221; said French scientist Laurent Bruxelles, one of the authors of a study published Monday in the <i>PNAS<\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> journal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was bizarre to see some Australopithecus lasting for such a long time,&#8221; the geologist told AFP. <\/p>\n<p>Around 2.2 million years ago the Homo habilis\u2014the earliest species of the Homo genus that includes Homo sapiens\u2014was already roaming the region.<\/p>\n<p>But there were no signs of Homo habilis at the depth of the cave where Mrs Ples was found.<\/p>\n<p><b>&#8216;Contemporaries&#8217;<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Also casting doubt on Mrs Ples&#8217;s age was recent research showing that the almost-complete skeleton of an Australopithecus known as &#8220;Little Foot&#8221; was 3.67 million years old.<\/p>\n<p>Such a big gap in ages between Mrs Ples and Little Foot seemed unlikely given they were separated by so few sedimentary layers.<\/p>\n<p>Because the fossils are too old and fragile to test, scientists analyse the sediment near where they were found.<\/p>\n<p>The previous dates underestimated the age of the fossils because they measured calcite flowstone mineral deposits, which were younger than the rest of that cave section, the study said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/the-sterkfontein-caves.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/the-sterkfontein-caves.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"The Sterkfontein caves southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/the-sterkfontein-caves.jpg\" alt=\"The Sterkfontein caves  southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world\" title=\"The Sterkfontein caves southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                The Sterkfontein caves southwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>For the latest study, the researchers used a technique called cosmogenic nuclide dating, which looked at levels of rare isotopes created when rocks containing quartz were hit by high-speed particles that arrived from outer space.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Their radioactive decay dates when the rocks were buried in the cave when they fell in the entrance together with the fossils,&#8221; said the study&#8217;s lead author, Darryl Granger of Purdue University in the US.<\/p>\n<p>The researchers found that Mrs Ples and other fossils near her were between 3.4 and 3.7 million years old.<\/p>\n<p>This means that members of Australopithecus africanus like Mrs Ples were &#8220;contemporaries&#8221; of East Africa&#8217;s Australopithecus afarensis, including 3.2-million-year-old Lucy who was found in Ethiopia, said Dominic Stratford, director of research at the caves and one of study&#8217;s authors.<\/p>\n<p><b>Our family tree &#8216;more like a bush&#8217;<\/b><\/p>\n<p>It could also possibly alter our understanding of our ancestral history.<\/p>\n<p>The South African Australopithecus had previously been considered &#8220;too young&#8221; to be the ancestor of the Homo genus, Stratford said. That meant that Lucy&#8217;s home of East Africa was thought to be the more likely place where the Homo genus evolved.<\/p>\n<p>But the new research shows that the South African Australopithecus had almost a million years to evolve into our Homo ancestor.<\/p>\n<p>Or they could have worked on it together.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Over a timeframe of millions of years, at only 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) away, these species had plenty of time to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>, to breed with each other&#8230; so we can largely imagine a common evolution across Africa,&#8221; Bruxelles said.<\/p>\n<p>The research showed that the history of hominids was &#8220;more complex than linear evolution&#8221;, he added.<\/p>\n<p>Our family tree is in fact &#8220;more like a bush, to use the words of our late friend Yves Coppens,&#8221; Bruxelles said, referring to the French palaeontologist credited with co-discovering Lucy. Coppens died last week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He had long understood the pan-African nature of evolution,&#8221; Bruxelles said.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__explore my-4 d-print-none\">\n<p>                                            Fossils in the &#8216;Cradle of Humankind&#8217; may be more than a million years older than previously thought\n                                        <\/p><\/div>\n<hr class=\"mb-4\"\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n                                                                                                <strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n                                                Cosmogenic nuclide dating of at Sterkfontein, South Africa, <i>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/i> (2022).  <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2123516119\">DOI: 10.1073\/pnas.2123516119<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                \u00a9 2022 AFP<\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Early human ancestors one million years older than thought (2022, July  2)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved  2 July 2022<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2022-06-early-human-ancestors-million-years.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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The fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":469804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/quotlittle-footquot-on.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-469803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}