Branchless Evolution: Fossils point to single hominid root
By Bruce Bower
Scientists working in Ethiopia’s Middle Awash valley have uncovered fossils of a 4.1-million-year-old human ancestor that bolster the controversial proposition that early members of our evolutionary family evolved one at a time on a single lineage rather than branching out into numerous species.
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A team led by anthropologist Tim D. White of the University of California, Berkeley unearthed 31 fossils of Australopithecus anamensis, the earliest known species of this ancient hominid genus. The finds, from at least eight individuals, consist primarily of teeth and jaws, but include foot and hand bones and much of an upper right-leg bone.