Human Evolution Timeline
View an artist’s fact and science based recreations of what these hominids (Kenyanthropus platyops & Sahelanthropus tchadensis) probably looked like.
The single species from this genus, A. ramidus, dates to approximately 4.5 mya. This earliest hominid has been identified from deposits in the locality of Aramis, Ethiopia.
Lacking, bony crests for heavy chewing muscles, the Gracile Australopithecines can be recognized by smaller cheek teeth that emphasize the anterior dentition.
The adaptive profile of the robust species indicates reliance on a diet of fibrous, gritty vegetation exhibited by an extremely large cheek teeth & robust mandible.
The emergence of the genus Homo (H. habilis), around 2.5 million years ago, precedes the later Homo erectus species which is most likely the first hominid to leave Africa.
Enjoy our gallery of fossils along with descriptions of these well known hominid and related discoveries from the past century.