Two million eld ago southerly Africa was dwell byAustralopithecus sedibaandParanthropus robustus . Now the discovery of a juvenileHomo erectusskull at Drimolen Cave has revealed a third species present in the area at the same prison term , and one much more tight connected to ourselves . Moreover , the find is the oldestHomo erectusfossil we have found , change over the debate about where this immensely successful species evolved .
Homo erectuswas the first species we cognize of whose body embodiment resembled our own , with long legs and shorter sleeve , indicating full adaptation to life on the ground . This helped them span much of the human beings , from Africa to east and south - east Asia , something unprecedented for our near congeneric . They also appear to have been responsible for the firsthand bloc , and last for almost 2 million years , something we may struggle to emulate .
Such a wide dispersal of necessity raises head about whereH. erectusevolved . The first uncovering were in Java and China , and La Trobe University PhD studentJesse Martintold IFLScience some conjecture has centered on theCaucasus Mountains . However , late East Africa , where somany otherearly humans appear , has been the focus .
Martin has change all that by identifying a 1.95 - 2.04 - million - year - old skull as being from aHomo erectuschild . Although it is the earliestH. erectusfossil we have , and far from full grown , the size of the skull suggests a brain capacity too big for anAustralopithecuschild . Using a model based on growth rates for humans and chimp Martin and co - authors estimate inSciencethe inauspicious individual was just 2 - 3 years onetime when they pass .
Martin tell IFLScience that had the proprietor go , its brain would have been at least within the normal mountain chain for more late member of its species .
Drimolen lies just north of a series of rock outcrop near Johannesburg know as theCradle of Humankindfor the abundant human fossils found there . Nevertheless , Martin order IFLScience , most Drimolen primate bones are from baboon . When part of fossil DNH 134 was spotted sticking out of some well - dated rock-and-roll it was thought to be just dismissed as yet another baboon skull . finally , Martin , then an undergraduate bookman , was assigned to , in his words : “ Spend week in a dark room with nail polish remover and a straw , getting out the deposit without touching the fossil . ” Martin ironically calls the labor “ glamourous ” having once almost chocked on a rat vertebrate .
Slowly turmoil built , as Martin started to realize the skull was actually human . By the time he talk to someone more aged he had a distrust it was actuallyH. erectus , preceding the oldest find by 100,000 - 200,000 age .
The discovery lead open howH. erectusinteracted withParanthropusandAustralopithecus . “ Paranthropus had enormous molar , 2 - 3 time the sizing of ours , and monolithic muscles attached to their jaw , ” Martin said . “ They clearly evolve to action surd foods like base and seeds . ” Although the jaw is missing from the 150 piece Martin put together to construct the skull , he suppose , “ H. erectusinstead had relatively large canines and incisor , possibly indicating they ate meat occasionally . A. Sediba’smorphology point it pursue a very generalised strategy , probably a foot in both camp . ”
Martin added that without DNA evidence it will be very difficult to determine if the three species could interbreed . “ It would have been thought preposterous , but since we found out aboutmating with Neanderthalsit ca n’t be ruled out . ”
Martin ’s supervisor Professor Andy Herries enounce in an emailed statement the discovery makes it unbelievable thatA. SedibawasH. erectus ' direct ancestor , as many have previously thought , deepening the mystery about that major expression of our evolution .
