A team of scientists on Valentine’s Day in 2018 uncovered a significant fossil discovery in northeastern Ethiopia’s badlands. Field assistant Omar Abdulla spotted an ancient molar, exposed by wind erosion, which sparked the team’s interest in exploring the area. The find suggests that human evolution occurred through complex branching and hybridization, supporting the idea of a non-linear timeline. This discovery sheds new light on the coexistence and interaction of different hominin species, highlighting the intricate nature of our evolutionary history.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/08/13/human-evolution-ancient-teeth-species