| Years ago |
Species |
Discovered |
Remarks |
| c. 1.8 million |
Homo erectus
|
2007 Dmanisi, Georgia |
May reveal how early humans moved out
of Africa |
| 3.5-4.1 million |
Au. anamensis
|
2006 in the Afar desert, Ethiopa |
The missing link in evolution between
Australopithecines and earlier Ardipithecus |
| 5.8–5.2 million |
Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba
|
1997–1998 in Alayla, Ethiopia |
May be oldest-known human ancestor.
About the size of modern chimpanzees, or 4 ft tall standing. May
have walked upright |
| c. 4.4 million |
Ardipithecus ramidus
ramidus
|
1994 in Aramis, Ethiopia |
Similar to A. ramidus
kadabba |
| c. 4.2 million |
Australopithecus
anamensis
|
1995, two sites at Lake Turkana in
Kenya: Kanapoi and Allia Bay |
Possible ancestor of A.
afarensis (Lucy). Walked upright |
| c. 3.2 million |
Australopithecus
afarensis
|
1974 at Hadar in the Afar triangle of
eastern Ethiopia; Laetoli, Tanzania |
Nicknamed “Lucy.” Her skeleton was 3.5
ft (100 cm) tall. Had apelike skull. Walked fully upright. Lived in
family groups throughout eastern Africa |
| c. 2.5 million |
Australopithecus
africanus
|
1924 at Taung, northern Cape Province,
South Africa |
Descendant of “Lucy.” Lived in social
groups |
| c. 2 million |
Australopithecus
robustus
|
1938 in Kromdraai, South Africa |
Was related to A.
africanus |
| c. 2 million |
Homo habilis
(“skillful”
or “handy man”) |
1960 in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania |
First brain enlargement; is believed
to have used stone tools |
| c. 1.8 million |
Homo erectus
(“upright
man”) |
1891 at Trinil, Java, Indonesia |
Brain size twice that of
australopithecine species. “Java Man” may have been a direct
ancestor of Homo sapiens or instead developed on a separate
evolutionary track. He is the first hominid to use fire and the hand
ax |
| c. 195,000 |
Homo sapiens
sapiens
(“knowing or wise man”) |
Discovered in 1964 (dated 2005) at Omo
Kibish, Ethiopia |
The Omo skull fossils are the
oldest-known anatomically modern humans |
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