The human species may be 30,000 years older than previously thought

Published: 01/12/2022 15:43 / Updated on 01/12/2022 15:48

(credit: nature/reproduction)

the sane man, the human race, may be about 30,000 years older than previously thought. That’s because a new analysis by scientists at the University of Cambridge has shown that the oldest known human fossils are older than previously thought. The results of the research were published in the journal temper nature, this Wednesday (1/12).

Fossils were found at Omo-Kibish in southwestern Ethiopia in the 1960s, an area with a lot of volcanic formation. Since then, scientists have tried to determine its history. To do this, they use chemical fingerprints from the layers of volcanic ash that lie above and below the sediments in which the fossils were found.

Known as Omo I, it is believed to be less than 200,000 years old. However, new research suggests that they are more than 230,000 years old. The exact age is still uncertain, but scientists have enough evidence to believe that they are older than a volcanic eruption that occurred in the area 230,000 years ago.

To get the result, the scientists first needed to establish the date of the volcanic eruption. That’s why they broke up the particles and analyzed them using radiometry.

“The study of human evolution is always in motion: boundaries and timelines change as our understanding improves. But these fossils show just how resilient humans are: we have survived, thrived, migrated in an area that was very prone to disasters and natural resources,” highlights Céline Vidal, one of the study’s authors.

The researchers also noted that due to its proximity to the volcano, the area had many resources that early humans could use, such as materials to make stone tools, which explains why they were in that area.