Pickford confirms miocene origins of early hominids, disputing molecular clock based conclusions
- From: "Jim McGinn" <jimmcginn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 01:24:34 GMT
Orrorin tugenensis is considered the second oldest possible hominin ancestor
related to modern humans (other than Sahelanthropus tchadensis) and is the
only species classified in genus Orrorin.
The fossils found so far come from at least five individuals. They include a
femur, suggesting that Orrorin walked upright; a thick right humerus,
suggestive of tree-climbing skills but not brachiation; and teeth that
suggest a diet much like that of modern humans. The full molars and small
canines suggest that Orrorin ate mostly fruit and vegetables, with
occasional meat. Orrorin was about the size of a modern chimpanzee.
By using radiometric dating techniques, the volcanic tuffs where the fossils
were found date to between 6.1 and 5.8 million years ago, during the
Miocene.
The team that found these fossils in 2000 was led by Martin Pickford.
Pickford claims that Orrorin is clearly a hominin; based on this, he dates
the split between hominins and other African great apes to at least 7
million years ago. This date is markedly different from those derived using
the molecular clock approach.
Jim
.
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