Discovery of the Sahelanthropus Tchadensis Fossil: Earliest Hominid :: Anthropology Essays Paleontology Papers

Disco very(prenominal) of the Sahelanthropus Tchadensis Fossil Earliest hominianIn July of 2001, a group of archeologists discovered the skull and jaw bone of the oldest atom of the human family. The skull is a new discovery and was found in the Djurab forego of Northern Chad by a group of archeologists lead by Michel Brunet, and is conception to be six to s unconstipated million years old (Walton). The epoch of the skull and jaw bone were approximated through the association of the fauna that were found with the fossils (Brunet). The skull is a major find for archeologists because they now stir a new magic spell of the puzzle that shows the evolution of humans from apes and it provides information to a period that scientists had very little knowledge about because of the lack of evidence (Whitfield). The skull was given the scientific name Sahelanthropus tchadensis and was nicknamed Toumai, which is a local name for a child innate(p) perilously close to the beginning o f the dry season meaning trust of Life (Walton). The skull has a mix of ape and hominid, early humans who argon distinctly different from apes by their upright posture, features. The brain case is homogeneous to those of apes, being about the size as a chimp, but the mysterious tooth enamel and the presence of small canines in the jaw bone atomic number 18 features that argon similar to hominids. The most surprising part of the skull is the presence of the biggish brow ridges found on Toumai (Groves). This is unexpected because the next oldest hominid fossils have a small or non-existent brow ridges but our family, Homo, also has life-size prominent brow ridges (Gee). These fossils are having a major impact on the scientific worlds view of human evolution and scientists may even have to rethink some present ideas about it. Because the skull of Toumai has characteristics that are very similar to those found in the Homo family, some scientists are beginning to question whether or not Australopithecus, an early member of the hominid family from about four to one million years ago and they are characterized by their fully upright posture and their small brain size, is even part of the evolution record of humans from apes. Bernard Wood, of George capital of the United States University in Washington DC, argues that if Australopithecus has more ape-like features than the features found on an older