The upright ancestor of man was 200,000 years older than scientists thought

The fossilized skull was discovered during excavations in an area called the "Cradle of Humankind".

In the same place, researchers have repeatedly found the remains of hominids, the direct upright ancestors of modern humans.

The researchers managed to collect not the full skull, but only the upper part of it — scientists call itOver the course of a year, archaeologists discovered individual fragments of the skull and collected it only by the end of 2019.

"In an attempt to determine which hominid species the fossils we found belonged to, we compared the skullcap with other hominid bone samples in the same area.Eventually, because of its teardrop-shaped shape and relatively large brain cavity, we knew it wasabout Homo erectus"

Stephanie Baker, lead author of the study

Homo erectus - the first unconditional uprightthe ancestors of man, who are believed to be the first to use tools, make fire and process food. Until now, the oldest confirmed remains of Homo erectus have been 1.8 million years old bones discovered in Dmanisi, Georgia. Analysis of the new find showed that she was 2.04 million years old.

"The fossil record shows that Homo erectus existed for 150,000 to 200,000 yearssooner than previously thought"

Stephanie Baker, lead author of the study

Previously, scientists came to the conclusion that the first representatives of Homo erectus were able to make tools of varying complexity.