by Randall Susman
Odyseey: Adventures in Science
Article summary:
" Ape-men" is the name that we use for to name early hominids because of their relation to apes but also to humans. Sahelanthropus tchadensis was found at the beginning of the 21st century in Africa. We can tell that it is 6-7 million years old and there are many opinions of whether it was more ape or human like. Orrorin tugenesis is one of the oldest anthropoids about 6.1-5.8 m.y.a and it was found in Kenya. He have been placed in the austrolopithecines group. Ardipithecus is 4.4 million years old and it was found in Ethiopia at the year 1994 and depended on scientists it is more ape like. Kenyapithecys platyops was discovered as the same time as sahelanthropus (2001) in Kenya. The splited skull was more like 3.5 m.y.a. Paranthropus (similar to man) it is estimated that it is as old as the homo species (around 2.5 m.y.a) and it was found Kenya. As scientists can tell they spend more time to the ground.
Early homo are part of out class. The first found fossils are around 2 millions years old. Our "relative's" first found skull was discovered in South and East of Africa. According to the author "paleoanthropologists had thought that all the early Homo fossils that date from around 2-1.6 m.y.a belonged to the species Homo habils". Homo habils( handy man) fossils were found in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. Their basic difference with all the ape-men is that they have a larger brain but it is not more human like than australopithecnes. The more advanced specie of Homo is H. erectus. It was found in Asia, Europe and Africa and it dates 18 m.y.a. The specie of homo between homo habils and homo erectus is homo georgicus (named by a scientist) and it is dated around 1.8 m.y.a. At last, a recently discovered hominid specie is homo florensis which is dated around 18.000 years before present.
Susman, Randall. "Who is who among early hominids?" Odyssey: Adventures in Science Oct. 2009:
22-25. Print.
