Oldest human ancestor said found in Africa

THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2001

Research published in today's issue of Nature discusses a 5.5 million-year-old fossil which may be the oldest human ancestor discovered so far.

The fossil was discovered in the desert in central Ethiopia by a team led by a University of California graduate student. It has been classified as Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba, meaning root-man ancestor. It differs from other finds and is also older.

Get the Research:
New early human fossils (Nature 7/12)

Get the Story:
Fossils Suggest Earliest Human Ancestor (The Washington Post 7/12)

Relevant Links:
Nature - http://www.nature.com/nature