The Earliest Human Ancestors: New Finds, New Interpretations
Becky Rogers Ackermann, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology
University of Cape Town
In the last decade, there has been an explosion of fossil finds of our
The Earliest Human Ancestors: New Finds, New Interpretations
Becky Rogers Ackermann, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology
University of Cape Town
In the last decade, there has been an explosion of fossil finds of our earliest human ancestors - commonly called "the australopithecines." Most of the finds have been of "gracile", small-bodied specimens, which - unlike the "robust" ones - are generally considered direct ancestors of populations of early
Homo, and by extension direct ancestors of modern humans. Until 1994, all of the known gracile australopithecines were placed in two species:
Australopithecus africanus from South Africa, (see picture to the right)
and Australopithe