- Most of science is convinced the humans evolved in Africa some 2 to 3 million years ago. There are some dozen different lineages that go back 4 million years of ancestors.
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- Fossils suggest that humans left Africa some 120,000 years ago. There is even an ancient population in China, called Denisovans, that are dated 100,000 years ago. Neanderthals were found in Europe with ancestors that left Africa 400,000 to 600,000 years ago.
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- There as a species of hobbits found on the island Flores in southeastern Asia that lived 95,000 to 17,000 years ago.
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- Humans, and maybe I should call them “homos”, apparently migrated throughout the Earth taking refuge in ecological sanctuaries during recurring ice ages. These climate induced enclaves evolved restricted habitats and new species of homos. Many of these homo species have since gone extinct.
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- “Lucy” was a fossil found in East Africa that was the lineage “Homo Habilis“. 3,000,000 years ago Lucy and her relatives walked upright , on stubby legs, with tree-climbing hands, and small brains surviving in the African forests. One hallmark in their transition was more meat in their diets, a richer source of calories where fruits and nuts became scarce.
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- “ Australopitheus Sediba” is another lineage that was recently uncovered in the John Nash Nature Reserve 25 miles northeast of Johannesburg, South Africa, not East Africa where Lucy was found.
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- In East Africa homo fossils came from sediments sandwiched between layers of volcanic ash. The ashes were carbon dated at 1,977,000 years old + or - 2,000 years.
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- In South Africa 220 bones of A. Sediba were found. The skull brain size was 420 cubic centimeters. 1/3 the size of today’s human brains. The bones displayed the features of both apes and man at the same time. The arm alone suggest an ape, while the anklebone matches modern man. The juvenile male and the adult female skeletons are the most complete.
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- Fossilization decomposes organic components such as skin, hair, organs leaving behind only mineralized bones. However, there is some evidence that skin is on some of the bones. Currently the oldest homo DNA is dated 100,000 years old, a Neanderthal. There is a chance that the Al Sediba bones may contain the oldest genetic information found so far.
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- Another piece of evidence is the tarter stains on the teeth. this could provide the evidence of the diet. Silvia crystals , called hydroliths, embedded in the tarter may indicate what plants were eaten.
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- The cave were the skeletons were found was 30 to 50 meters deep . the homos were probably there to access fresh water that we hard to find in the area.
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- The dating of the bones was nearly coincident with the Earth’s magnetic polarity flip, magnetic north becomes magnetic south. The timing raises curiosity about possible environmental changes that occur when the Earth’s magnetic polarities flip.
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- Only surfaces fossils at the site have been collected to date. Excavation is planned once the site is turned into a state-of-the-art field laboratory which is to be completed later this year.
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An announcement will be made shortly, stay tuned.
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(1) To learn more: ScientificAmerican.com/apr2012/sediba
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