It is suggested that the Australopithecines and the homos lived in the same time and place

2025/08/20 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Eboluzioa
• Arkeologia

Between two and three million years ago, the species Australopithecus afarensis disappeared and species of the genus Homo and Paranthropus appeared in Africa. Now, according to fossils found at the Ledi-Geraru site in Afar, Ethiopia, members of the genus Australopithecus and Homo may have lived in the same place between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago. Details have been published in the open journal Nature.

Ledi-Geraru is already known for having discovered the first stone tools from the Olduvai period, as well as the oldest fossil of the Homo genus: A 2.8 million year old mandible. Now, 13 teeth have been found that, according to researchers, belong to species of the genus Australopithecus (2.63 million years) and Homo (2.78–2.59 million years). In addition, the morphology of the former does not coincide with that of the previously known australopites (A. afarensis and A. garhi), so it has been suggested that they will belong to an unknown species.

The researchers conclude that the australopithecines and early homos coexisted in Afar territory more than 2.5 million years ago, and that the fossil record of hominins is richer than previously known. In fact, between 3 and 2.5 million years ago, there were at least four hominin lineages living in East Africa: Homo, Paranthropus, A. garhi, and the australopite of Ledi-Geraru.