Press "Enter" to skip to content

Oldest Known Fossil is Ancient than Assumed

Earliest human remains in eastern Africa dated to more than 230,000 years ago.The age of the oldest Fossil in eastern Africa widely recognized as representing our species, Homo sapiens, has long been uncertain. Now, dating of a massive volcanic eruption in Ethiopia reveals they are much older than previously thought.The remains – known as Omo I – were found in Ethiopia in the late 1960s, and scientists have been attempting to date them precisely ever since, by using the chemical fingerprints of volcanic ash layers found above and below the sediments in which the Fossil were found.

An international team of scientists, led by the University of Cambridge, has reassessed the age of the Omo I remains – and Homo sapiens as a species. Earlier attempts to date the Fossil suggested they were less than 200,000 years old, but the new research shows they must be older than a colossal volcanic eruption that took place 230,000 years ago. The results are reported in the journal Nature

The Omo I remains were found in the Omo Kibish Formation in southwestern Ethiopia, within the East African Rift valley. The region is an area of high volcanic activity, and a rich source of early human remains and artifacts such as stone tools. By dating the layers of volcanic ash above and below where archaeological and Fossil materials are found, scientists identified Omo I as the earliest evidence of our species, Homo sapiens.

Researchers said that the forensic approach provides a new minimum age for Homo sapiens in eastern Africa, but the challenge still remains to provide a cap, a maximum age, for their emergence, which is widely believed to have taken place in this region. It’s possible that new finds and new studies may extend the age of our species even further back in time.”

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *