Page 85 - The Restless Earth Fossils

4 Fossils

that are 3.7 million years old proved that two individuals about
Lucy’s size left hauntingly human footprints behind them.
Lucy was given the scientific name Australopithecus afarensis,
which means “southern ape of the Afar region.” Lucy probably
looked more like an ape than a human except for the way she
walked. Several other species of Australopithecus lived in Africa
over a period of 1.5 million years. There is no evidence that any
of these species ventured beyond Africa. A species of hominin
named Homo habilis lived in roughly the same territory as Lucy
about 2 million years ago. They made simple stone tools and had
somewhat larger brains. They, too, stayed in Africa. A species
named Homo erectus made the first early and extensive migrations
out of Africa, equipped with a sturdy body, bigger brain, and,
eventually, the ability to use fire.

out oF aFrica

In 1984, Kamoya Kimeu and Richard Leakey (the son of Mary
Leakey) found the nearly complete skeleton of a young Homo erectus
boy in Kenya. His body looked completely human in proportion, but
had somewhat thicker bones. This “Nariokotome boy” (sometimes
called “Turkana boy”) lived 1.6 million years ago. He stood about
5 feet 3 inches (1.6 meters) tall—probably close to his full growth
height—and had suffered from a bad tooth infection. He may have
been as young as seven years old. This kind of rapid early growth
is more typical of apes. While his body looked very “modern,” his
skull, like that of all H. erectus, did not. He had a brain about the
size of a one-year-old child living today, housed in a skull with heavy
brow ridges and a projecting face. Based on some skull features, it is
thought that H. erectus probably could not talk as we do.
Although Nariokotome Boy lived in Africa, the remains of his
species have been found from Java and Indonesia to China and
Eurasia. His kind used their long legs and skills with toolmaking
to leave Africa and sample what the rest of the world had to offer
during an extended period of mild climate. Their skills served
them well. They existed from at least 2 million years ago to half
a million years ago. Newly discovered fossils of a pygmy race that

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