New Fossil Finding Rewrites Human Evolutionary History: Lucy Had a Neighbor
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – A newly discovered fossil foot from the woranso-Mille site in Ethiopia reveals a previously unknown species of hominin that walked upright alongside Australopithecus afarensis – the species famously represented by the “Lucy” skeleton – approximately 3.8 million years ago. The find, detailed in a paper published in Nature, challenges the long-held linear view of human evolution and confirms a more complex, “thicket-like” branching pattern of early hominin lineages.
For decades, the story of human origins was often depicted as a straightforward progression towards modern humans. However, the discovery of Australopithecus deyiremeda demonstrates that multiple hominin species coexisted in the same region during the Pliocene epoch, each experimenting with bipedalism and contributing to the intricate tapestry of our ancestry. this finding underscores that our evolutionary path wasn’t a single,ascending line,but a diverse and overlapping network of species,some of which left no direct descendants.
The fossil, consisting of a partial foot, exhibits features indicating habitual bipedal locomotion. researchers believe A. deyiremeda represents a distinct lineage that existed alongside Lucy and other Australopithecus afarensis individuals, suggesting a greater diversity of hominin forms than previously understood. “Human evolution was not an orderly staircase, but a thicket full of paths that branch, intersect or simply coexist,” explains Jorge Alcalde, highlighting the implications of the discovery.
This discovery emphasizes that even seemingly small fossil finds – in this case, a bone the size of a fingernail – can fundamentally alter our understanding of human origins. The Woranso-Mille site continues to yield crucial evidence, reminding scientists that the early chapters of human history remain largely unknown and are subject to ongoing revision. further research at the site and analysis of additional fossils are expected to provide deeper insights into the relationships between these early hominin species and their respective contributions to the human family tree.
