A groundbreaking discovery in Ethiopia has revealed that two human ancestors, Australopithecus and Homo, lived together in the same location between 2.6 million and 2.8 million years ago. The finding has challenged scientists’ long-held assumption that Homo evolved from Australopithecus.
Ten teeth found between 2018 and 2020 belong to Australopithecus, an ancient human relative with a brain size similar to that of apes. Three teeth discovered in 2015 belong to Homo, the species that includes modern humans. The fossils were dated to 2.63 million years ago and 2.59-2.78 million years ago, respectively.
The coexistence of these two hominins is rare and has significant implications for our understanding of human evolution. “Human evolution is not linear; it’s a bushy tree with life forms that go extinct,” said study coauthor Kaye Reed.
Researchers believe the Australopithecus teeth belong to a previously unknown species, which walked the Earth after Lucy, an iconic fossil of Australopithecus afarensis. The discovery demonstrates that human evolution is not linear and that there were multiple species living together at different times.
The Afar region in Ethiopia provided the fossils due to its unique geology, which has exposed layers of sediment over millions of years. Researchers are now working to find more fossils and data to better understand how these hominins coexisted and whether they shared resources or competed for food sources.
This discovery adds to the growing evidence that Australopithecus was not alone in its habitat, challenging our previous understanding of human evolution.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/16/science/australopithecus-homo-species-afar-ethiopia