Advent_of_hominins

MRD-VP-¹⁄₁ was announced only a few months ago (fun fact: you can tell when there is going to be a new fossil find by just asking me when I am planning to print my course syllabus and then banking on the fossil being published 24 hrs later…). Its importance is hard to overstate, as up till now we didn’t know much about the facial architecture of early members of the Australopith genus, with the expectation of the Little Foot fossil from Sterkfontein in South Africa that may date to ~3.

Lothagam mandible from Kissel and Hawks 2015 While this fragmentary (and often over-looked) fossil may pale in comparison to other recent finds in terms of its preservation and allure, at one point it was one of the oldest examples we had of hominin evolution! {“x”:{“options”:{“crs”:{“crsClass”:“L.CRS.EPSG3857”,“code”:null,“proj4def”:null,“projectedBounds”:null,“options”:{}}},“calls”:[{“method”:“addTiles”,“args”:[“//{s}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png”,null,null,{“minZoom”:0,“maxZoom”:18,“tileSize”:256,“subdomains”:“abc”,“errorTileUrl”:“”,“tms”:false,“noWrap”:false,“zoomOffset”:0,“zoomReverse”:false,“opacity”:1,“zIndex”:1,“detectRetina”:false,“attribution”:”© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA”}]},{“method”:“addMarkers”,“args”:[3.42,35.8,null,null,null,{“interactive”:true,“draggable”:false,“keyboard”:true,“title”:“”,“alt”:“”,“zIndexOffset”:0,“opacity”:1,“riseOnHover”:false,“riseOffset”:250},“aprox location of KNM-LT 329 “,null,null,null,null,{“interactive”:false,“permanent”:false,“direction”:“auto”,“opacity”:1,“offset”:[0,0],“textsize”:“10px”,“textOnly”:false,“className”:“”,“sticky”:true},null]}],“limits”:{“lat”:[3.42,3.42],“lng”:[35.8,35.8]},“setView”:[[0.7529,35.8749],2,[]]},“evals”:[],“jsHooks”:[]} The date of this fossil, known to its close friends as KNM-LT 329, is uncertain.

Orrorin tugenensis sample from Senut et al 2001 These set of fossils (collected by Evalyne Kiptalam, Kiptalam Cheboi, Martin Pickford, Brigitte Senut, Dominique Gommery, Samuel Chetalam, & Joseph Chebet) date to ~ 6 million years ago. While no cranium has been published so far, we do have parts of the upper & lower dentition (including a fragment of the lower left mandible), femora, part of the humerus, & a proximal finger bone.

Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Image from http://humanorigins.si.edu/ This fossil dates to between ~7-6 million years ago and thus may be the earliest hominin known. It was found in the Toros-Menalla area of the Djurab Desert of northern Chad. {“x”:{“options”:{“crs”:{“crsClass”:“L.CRS.EPSG3857”,“code”:null,“proj4def”:null,“projectedBounds”:null,“options”:{}}},“calls”:[{“method”:“addTiles”,“args”:[“//{s}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png”,null,null,{“minZoom”:0,“maxZoom”:18,“tileSize”:256,“subdomains”:“abc”,“errorTileUrl”:“”,“tms”:false,“noWrap”:false,“zoomOffset”:0,“zoomReverse”:false,“opacity”:1,“zIndex”:1,“detectRetina”:false,“attribution”:”© OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA”}]},{“method”:“addMarkers”,“args”:[17,18,null,null,null,{“interactive”:true,“draggable”:false,“keyboard”:true,“title”:“”,“alt”:“”,“zIndexOffset”:0,“opacity”:1,“riseOnHover”:false,“riseOffset”:250},“aprox location of Sahelanthropus tchadensis”,null,null,null,null,{“interactive”:false,“permanent”:false,“direction”:“auto”,“opacity”:1,“offset”:[0,0],“textsize”:“10px”,“textOnly”:false,“className”:“”,“sticky”:true},null]}],“limits”:{“lat”:[17,17],“lng”:[18,18]},“setView”:[[17,18],2,[]]},“evals”:[],“jsHooks”:[]} The fossil was first published in 2002, with subsequent material published in 2005. Scientists argued that it was bipedal based mostly on the placement of the foramen magnum, the large hole at the base of the skull through which the spinal column attaches to the skull.