A mysterious fossilized foot found in Ethiopia testifies to the existence of a hitherto little-known human ancestor, a contemporary of Lucy’s famous appearance.
Until now, the look of Lucy, Australopithecus Afar, She was considered the only human ancestor who lived in this region more than three million years ago.
However, this 2009 find in Burtela, northeastern Ethiopia, may even question Lucy’s status as a direct ancestor a wise man according to a scientific study published in the journal Nature.
Foot with opposite toe
The foot found does not belong to Lucy’s species, as she has an opposable toe similar to a big toe, which allows her to cling to tree branches like monkeys.
Scientists who discovered the bones of this limb in 2015 concluded that there was a previously unknown species of hominid, When I say Australopithecus, based on approximately 3.4 million year old jaws also found at Burtel.
Until now, the team could not say with certainty that the bones of this “Bourtele foot” belonged to this new species.
But in this study, published in Naturescientists announce that new fossils, including a jaw with 12 teeth, found at the site show that the foot was from I’m not saying Australopithecus.
“We have no doubt that Burtele’s foot belongs to the same species as these teeth and this jaw,” study lead author Johannes Haile-Selassie of the University of Arizona told AFP.
New clues about human evolution
Researchers have found new evidence of a link between this species and A wise man.
A scan of exposed teeth shows that I’m not saying Australopithecus According to the study, was more primitive than his relative Lucy. Their diet consisted mainly of leaves, fruits and nuts from trees.
His prehensile thumb also suggests that this relative A wise man He spent more time in the trees.
These fingers played an important role in the evolution of man, as they indicate that man left the trees and began to walk on two legs.
Did two species of Australopithecus coexist?
Possible coexistence between I’m not saying Australopithecus and Lucy’s appearance remains a matter of debate among scholars.
New research shows that the species I’m not saying Australopithecus He spent time in the forest, often in the trees, while Australopithecus Afar Like Lucy, they were more terrestrial, a difference that allowed them to coexist, according to researchers.
This shows that “coexistence is deeply rooted in our ancestors,” notes Haile-Selassie.
John McNab, an archaeologist specializing in the Paleolithic at the University of Southampton, welcomed the new research.
“There will always be skeptics, but I believe that these new discoveries, along with confirmation of previous ones, will help many researchers to better accept I’m not saying Australopithecus” says this scientist, who was not involved in the study Nature.
This “adds a new element to the equation” in the search for the identity of our true ancestor, he says.
Lucy does not lose her throne
Lucy’s appearance remains the most important ancestor because her leg is closer to a human than her foot When I say Australopithecus, more primitive, admit the two scientists.
But the discovery “raises the possibility that we may still find other species dating back to this period, as Australopithecines seem to have experimented with bipeds,” insists Haile Selassie.
Discovered in 1974, Lucy was long thought to be the oldest human ancestor found, but in 1994 she was superseded by Ardi, a female Ardipithecus ramidus that lived 4.5 million years ago, also in modern-day Ethiopia.
A FEW (AFP, EFE)
