Moscow. 14th of April. INTERFAX.RU – Scientists have confirmed the dating of a fragment of the skull of Homo erectus (human erectus), found in northern Kenya in 1974, according to the American Museum of Natural History.
It is noted that this fragment has become one of the oldest evidence of the presence of Homo erectus in Africa – there was only a skull found in South Africa that was 2 million years old.
Under the direction of museum paleontologist Ashley Hammond, scientists examined reports and photographs taken in 1974, combining this data with satellite and aerial imagery to pinpoint the area.
In the end, the researchers made sure that the skull was not brought in from later layers, for example, by water flows, thereby confirming the original age of the fossil.
During fieldwork with the assistance of students and staff from the Koobi Fora Field School, two new specimens of Homininae (Homininae) were discovered within 50 meters of the reconstructed skull site – a part of the pelvis and a foot bone, which may have belonged to the same person whose skull was found almost 50 years ago, although it is now impossible to prove it.
“However, they may be the earliest postcranial – 'below the head' – specimens found for H. erectus ,” the report said.
The researchers also collected fossilized teeth from other vertebrate species, mainly mammals, from the area. It was established that this early H. erectus lived in an open area near the reservoir, the fauna here was represented mainly by herbivores.
