考古学調査により、約15万年前に西アフリカの深い熱帯雨林に初期人類が居住していた証拠が発見された。この発見は、同大陸における居住時期の推定を従来の2倍以上に塗り替えるものであり、初期人類の適応能力に関する長年の通説を覆すものとなる。
研究チームは、現在のコートジボワールにあるベテI遺跡において、熱帯雨林の地中深くから石器や環境データを発掘した。複数の年代測定法を用いた結果、人類の居住時期は約15万年前と特定された。また、花粉サンプルや植物の残骸の分析から、当時この地域は開けた草原ではなく、湿潤な森林環境であったことが確認された。
Researchers have found fossil teeth in Ethiopia indicating that early Homo and an unknown Australopithecus species shared the landscape between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago. The discovery adds to evidence that human evolution involved multiple overlapping lineages rather than a single straight path.
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Ethiopia's Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage announced discovery of Homo sapiens fossils from 100,000 years ago in the Middle Awash area of the Afar region. The study, led by Dr. Yonas Beyene with scientists from 24 countries, fills key gaps in Africa's human origins timeline.
Researchers have uncovered a 7.2-million-year-old femur in Bulgaria that shows features suggesting bipedal walking, predating known African hominin fossils. The find, linked to the ape species Graecopithecus freybergi, challenges the idea that upright walking evolved solely in Africa. However, experts caution that more evidence is needed to confirm bipedality.
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Researchers from Australia and New Zealand have discovered fossils from 16 species, including a new ancestor of the kākāpō parrot, in a cave near Waitomo on the North Island. The remains, dating back about one million years, reveal waves of extinction driven by volcanic eruptions and climate shifts long before human arrival. The find fills a major gap in the country's fossil record.