The following tables give a brief overview of several notable hominin fossil finds relating to human evolution beginning with the formation of the Hominini tribe in the late Miocene (roughly 6 million years ago).
As there are thousands of fossils, mostly fragmentary, often consisting of single bones or isolated teeth with complete skulls and skeletons rare, this overview is not complete, but does show some of the most important finds. The fossils are arranged by approximate age as determined by radiometric dating and/or incremental dating and the species name represents current consensus; if there is no clear scientific consensus the other possible classifications are indicated. Deprecated classifications may be found on the fossil's page.
Most of the fossils shown are not considered direct ancestors to Homo sapiens but are closely related to direct ancestors and are therefore important to the study of the lineage.
Late Miocene
5.5 million - 7 million years old
Pliocene
2.58 million - 5.3 million years old
Pleistocene
Lower Paleolithic: 400,000 - 2.58 million
Middle Paleolithic: 300,000 - 50,000 years old
Upper Paleolithic: 50,000 - 10,000 years old
Holocene
Mesolithic / Neolithic: 10,000 - 5000 years old
Abbreviations used in fossil catalog name
- AL â€" Afar Locality, Ethiopia
- ARA-VP â€" Aramis Vertebrate Paleontology, Ethiopia
- BAR â€" (Lukeino, Tugen Hills) Baringo District, Kenya
- BOU-VP â€" Bouri Vertebrate Paleontology, Ethiopia
- D â€" Dmanisi, Georgia
- ER â€" East (Lake) Rudolf, Kenya
- KGA â€" Konso-Gardula, Ethiopia
- KNM â€" Kenya National Museum
- KP â€" Kanapoi, Kenya
- LB â€" Liang Bua, Indonesia
- LH â€" Laetoli Hominid, Tanzania
- MH â€" Malapa Hominin, South Africa
- NG â€" Ngandong, Indonesia
- OH â€" Olduvai Hominid, Tanzania
- SK â€" Swartkrans, South Africa
- Sts, Stw â€" Sterkfontein, South Africa
- TM â€" Transvaal Museum, South Africa
- TM â€" Toros-Menalla, Chad
- WT â€" West (Lake) Turkana, Kenya
Timelines
See also
Further reading
References
Bibliography
- Tattersall, Ian, Schwartz, Jeffery (2000). Extinct Humans. Westview Press, Boulder CO. ISBN 978-0-8133-3482-0. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- Larsen, Clark Spencer, Matter, Robert M, Gebo, Daniel L (1991). Human Origins: the fossil record. Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL. ISBN 978-0-88133-575-0. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- "Smithsonian Human Origins Program". Retrieved 2006-08-29.Â
- "Prominent Hominid Fossils". Retrieved 2006-08-31.Â
- Grine, F.E.; Jungers, W.L.; Schultz, J. (1996). "Phenetic Affinities Among Early Homo Crania from East and South Africa". Journal of Human Evolution. 30 (3): 189â€"225. doi:10.1006/jhev.1996.0019.Â
External links
- Interactive map of primate fossil finds around the world
- Informative lecture on Australopithecines
- The Age of Homo sapiens â€" Interactive Map of Human Evolution Fossils
- Human Timeline (Interactive) â€" Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).