来自埃塞俄比亚莱迪-杰拉鲁的新发现
Brian Villmoare1, Lucas K Delezene2, Amy L Rector3
1Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
Nature
|August 13, 2025
概括
埃塞俄比亚的新化石揭示了早期的Homo和不同类型的澳大利亚甲动物在300万到250万年前共存,
科学领域:
- 古人类学
- 人类的进化
- 化石记录分析
背景情况:
- 3到200万年前的时期对于理解人类进化至关重要,这段时期以Homo和Paranthropus的出现和Australopithecus afarensis的消失为标志.
- 之前在东非的研究面临的局限性是由于这一关键时期的化石稀缺.
研究的目的:
- 描述埃塞俄比亚Ledi-Geraru研究项目的新型人类化石,重点关注3至200万年前的沉积物.
- 测试早期人类进化中影响关键事件的适应性背景的假设.
主要方法:
- 从Ledi-Geraru研究项目区域挖掘和回收新的人类化石.
- 化石载体沉积物的年代测定以确定它们的地质年龄.
- 检测人类的牙形态.
主要成果:
- 归因于Homo属的化石可以追溯到278和259万年前.
- 奥斯拉罗皮特的化石可以追溯到263万年前,其形态与奥斯拉罗皮特亚法兰西斯和奥斯拉罗皮特加里不同.
- 证据表明,在250万年前的阿法尔地区,奥斯特拉罗皮特和早期人种共存为不同的血统.
结论:
- 这一时期的原始人化石记录比以前认可的更加多样化.
- 至少有四个人类系,包括早期的Homo,Paranthropus,Australopithecus garhi和新发现的Ledi-Geraru Australopithecus,在30万到250万年前居住在东非.
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