News Humans

Southern Africa may have hosted a hominid transition 2 million years ago

Cave excavation yields braincases from both Homo erectus and Paranthropus robustus

Homo erectus braincase

Two hominid fossils unearthed in a South African cave, including this Homo erectus braincase, point to a major evolutionary shift that occurred around 2 million years ago.

A. Herries, Jesse Martin, Renaud Joannes-Boyau

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Members of three different hominid lines clustered at the bottom of Africa around 2 million years ago, signaling an evolutionary swing propelled by the spread of a highly successful, humanlike species, new fossil discoveries suggest.