Post by L Roebuck on Nov 11, 2006 10:03:13 GMT -5
Early hominids eradicated African competitor
More than 1 million years ago, two competing ancestors to modern humanity lived in Africa. One of the upright hominid species however suddenly grew extinct. Researchers long attributed this to its diet, but new studies on skulls found in South Africa make it more likely that our direct ancestor, the early Homo, may have had an active role.
South Africa's Swartkrans cave - famous among hominid fossil hunters - does not stop to surprise scientists for its rich database on our ancestors' history. Swartkrans is a renowned early hominid cave site containing remains of several types of the earliest hominids, the creatures on the evolutionary road from apes to modern man.
Among these hominids found in the Swartkrans cave are Paranthropus robustus and the earliest creatures of the genus Homo - which produced modern Homo sapiens. Both species walked on two legs across the woodlands and grassy plains of South Africa more than 2 million years ago.
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More than 1 million years ago, two competing ancestors to modern humanity lived in Africa. One of the upright hominid species however suddenly grew extinct. Researchers long attributed this to its diet, but new studies on skulls found in South Africa make it more likely that our direct ancestor, the early Homo, may have had an active role.
South Africa's Swartkrans cave - famous among hominid fossil hunters - does not stop to surprise scientists for its rich database on our ancestors' history. Swartkrans is a renowned early hominid cave site containing remains of several types of the earliest hominids, the creatures on the evolutionary road from apes to modern man.
Among these hominids found in the Swartkrans cave are Paranthropus robustus and the earliest creatures of the genus Homo - which produced modern Homo sapiens. Both species walked on two legs across the woodlands and grassy plains of South Africa more than 2 million years ago.
Full Article