Fossils of human immediate predecessors discovered in Ethiopia
Posted on: Saturday, 14 June 2003, 06:00 CDT
Fossils of human immediate predecessors discovered in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Scientists working in Ethiopia announced Wednesday the discovery of fossilized crania of two adults and a child, which is cited as the world's oldest near- modern humans.
The scientists found the fossils, which aged 160,000 years in Herto village, about 230 km north east of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, has been named "Homo Sapiens."
The announcement came at a press briefing given here by the scientists involved in the discoveries.
The fossils found include the crania of two adults and a child as well as additional skull pieces and isolated teeth from seven individuals.
All the fossil hominids were from the same species and found within 200 meters area eroded from geological layer of ancient river and beach deposit.
It took the team of the paleontologists three years to clean and restore the fossils before they could be compared and analyzed.
The new finding shows that Africa is a cradle of human ancestors from Ardipithecus at 6 million years back to recent discovery of Homo Sapiens.
The discoveries of human evolution so far showed that Asians and African population were of the same species about 1 million years ago, said a document available here.
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