TEMPE, AZ (AZFamily) — A group of Arizona State University scientists was among a team that uncovered a new species of fossils, shedding more light on human evolution.
The team of international scientists discovered the fossils in northeastern Ethiopia as part of the Ledi-Geraru Research Project, led by ASU researchers. Officials say the group found new fossils suggesting that Australopithecus and the oldest specimens of Homo, both types of early humans, lived in the same place in Africa at the same time, between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago.
“This new research shows that the image many of us have in our minds of an ape to a Neanderthal to a modern human is not correct — evolution doesn’t work like that,” said ASU paleoecologist Kaye Reed. “Here we have two hominin species that are together. And human evolution is not linear; it’s a bushy tree. There are life forms that go extinct.”…