Stages in human evolution, illustration

Rights Managed

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Stages in human evolution, illustration. From left to right are: Ardipithecus ramidus, fossils of which have been found in Aramis, Ethiopia, and dated to around 4.4 million years ago; Australopithecus afarensis, based on the Lucy specimen found in the Afar region of Ethiopia, and dating from 3.3 million years ago; Australopithecus sediba, which lived in Southern Africa around 1.9 million years ago; Australopithecus africanus, which lived in Southern Africa 3.3 to 2.1 million years ago; Paranthropus boisei, which lived in eastern Africa around 2.3 to 1.2 million years ago; Homo erectus, which lived in Africa and Asia between 1.9 million and 143,000 years ago; Homo naledi, whose fossils have been found in South Africa, dating to between 300,000 and 200,000 years old; Homo tsaichangensis, based on the Penghu 1 mandible, found in Taiwan, and believed to have lived less than 450,000 years ago; Homo neanderthalensis, which lived in Europe and western Asia between 230,000 and 29,000 years ago; Denisova hominin, or Denisovan, based on the Xuchang 1 skull found in Eastern China and dating to between 105,000 and 125,000 years ago; finally a Homo sapiens, or modern human.

JOHN BAVARO FINE ART / Science Source

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