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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Ian Sample Science editor

Fresh bone analysis makes case for earliest ‘ancestor of humankind’, but doubts remain

A cast of an early human skull
A cast of the Sahelanthropus tchadensis cranium. Photograph: Didier Descouens

In the murky first chapters of the human story is an unknown ancestor that made the profound transition from walking on all fours to standing up tall, an act that came to define us.

The odds of stumbling on the fossilised evidence of such an evolutionary prize are slim, but in new research, scientists argue that an ape-like animal that lived in Africa 7m years ago is the best contender yet.

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