Focus on Africa Sudan's conflict: The impact on children
The ongoing war in Sudan and limited access to humanitarian aid has led to starvation amongst those left behind. The United Nations says children are being "reduced to skin and bones." We'll hear from people within the country.
Also, are Kenya's dreams of becoming a footballing superpower in jeopardy?
And how are young African scientists using Charles Darwin's historical voyage to protect species on the continent?
Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Patricia Whitehorne and Stefania Okereke in London. Jewel Kiriungi and Charles Gitonga in Nairobi.
Technical Producer: Chris Ablakwa
Senior Journalist: Yvette Twagiramariya
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Stone Age humans were picky about which rocks they used for making tools, study finds
Early human ancestors during the Old Stone Age were more picky about the rocks they used for making tools than previously known, according to research published Friday. Not only did these early people make tools, they had a mental picture of where suitable raw materials were located and planned ahead to use them, traveling long distances. By around 2.6 million years ago, early humans had developed a method of pounding rocks together to chip off sharp flakes that could be used as blades for butchering meat. This allowed them to feast on large animals like hippos that gathered near a freshwater spring at the Nyayanga archaeological site in Kenya. 'But hippo skin is really tough" — and not all rocks were suitable for creating blades sharp enough to pierce hippo skin, said co-author Thomas Plummer, a paleoanthropologist at Queens College of the City University of New York. Co-author Emma Finestone of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History added: 'When we think about stone tools, not every rock is equal in terms of the quality of tools.' At the Nyayanga site, researchers found durable blades made of quartzite, a rock material that they traced to streambeds and other locations around 8 miles (13 kilometers) away. The new research appears in the journal Science Advances. 'This suggests they've got a mental map of where different resources are distributed across the landscape,' said co-author Rick Potts of the Smithsonian 's Human Origins Program. Previously, researchers had assumed the stones may have been found within just a mile or so of the freshwater spring site. The new study shows that 'these early humans were thinking ahead. This is probably the earliest time we have in the archaeological record an indication of that behavior,' said Eric Delson, a paleoanthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the research. The oldest previously known example of early human ancestors transporting raw materials for tool-making was about 600,000 years later than the Nyayanga site. Researchers said it's unclear who these early toolmakers were — whether members of the Homo genus or a related but extinct branch of the family tree, such as Paranthropus. Homo sapiens did not arise until much later, around 300,000 years ago. But the knack for seeking out the best raw materials to make simple technology dates back nearly 3 million years. 'We today are a species that's still technology-dependent — using tools to spread around the world and adapt to different environments,' said Finestone. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
New human ancestor identified after fossil find
Fossil teeth unearthed in Ethiopia suggest two distinct human ancestor species coexisted between 2.6 and 2.8 million years ago, reshaping understanding of human evolution. The 13 teeth, found at the Ledi-Geraru archaeological site, belong to an early Homo species that lived alongside the hominin ancestor Australopithecus. This discovery indicates that human evolution is not a linear progression but a more complex 'bushy tree' with multiple lineages existing simultaneously. Researchers dated the specimens by analysing volcanic ash layers, which also helped reconstruct the ancient landscape as a vegetated area with rivers and shallow lakes. The newly identified Homo species is yet to be named, with further fossil discoveries required for formal classification.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
Ethiopian fossils reveal new species in human evolutionary lineage
Aug 13 (Reuters) - Researchers have unearthed tooth fossils in Ethiopia dating to about 2.65 million years ago of a previously unknown species in the human evolutionary lineage, one that lived in the same time and place as the earliest-known member of the genus Homo to which our own species belongs. The scientists discovered in the Ledi-Geraru research project area of northeastern Ethiopia's Afar Region 10 teeth - six molars, two incisors, one premolar and one canine - that they concluded belonged to a new Australopithecus species. The teeth came from two individuals. Until now, six species of the genus Australopithecus, an important early human ancestor that displayed a mix of ape-like and human-like traits, were known from fossils at various African sites. The researchers said the newly found teeth bore traits indicating they belonged to a seventh species. A genus is a group of closely related species that share similar characteristics. For example, lions and tigers are from the same genus but represent different species. The scientists also discovered three other teeth dating to 2.59 million years ago that had traits showing they belonged to the oldest-known species of Homo, one that was first revealed by a jawbone unearthed in the same vicinity in 2013. Scientists have not yet assigned names to the Australopithecus and Homo species represented by these 13 teeth because of the incomplete nature of the fossil remains. Our species Homo sapiens is the most recent member of the Homo genus, first appearing roughly 300,000 years ago in Africa before later spreading worldwide. The new dental fossils provide insight into a poorly understood period in human evolution. The close age of the teeth suggests that this newly identified Australopithecus species coexisted in this region with the early Homo species, raising questions about whether they competed for the same resources. The teeth also indicate that there were four hominins - as species in the human evolutionary lineage are known - that inhabited East Africa at the time. Previous fossils showed that another Australopithecus species and a species of Paranthropus, a hominin possessing a specialized skull adapted for heavy chewing, lived in East Africa during this time. An additional Australopithecus species also inhabited southern Africa, bringing the number of hominins then on the continent to five. The presence of these contemporaneous hominins illustrates the complicated nature of the human evolutionary process. "This reinforces the idea that the story of human evolution is not of a single lineage changing slowly through time," said University of Nevada, Las Vegas paleoanthropologist Brian Villmoare, lead author of the research published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, opens new tab. "Rather, the pattern of human evolution is similar to that of other organisms, repeatedly branching into multiple species throughout the fossil record, many of whom lived at the same time," Villmoare added. The researchers are seeking clues about the nature of any interaction between the Australopithecus and Homo species represented by the 13 teeth. "We are currently analyzing teeth to see if we can tell if they ate the same thing," said Arizona State University paleoecologist and project co-director Kaye Reed. If so, they may have fought over resources, Reed said. Crude stone tools dating to about the same time were previously discovered nearby, Reed said, probably made by the Homo species. The researchers determined the age of the teeth using a technique that dated feldspar crystals contained in volcanic ash in the sediments where they were discovered based on radioactive decay of the element argon. The Afar Region, one of Earth's hottest and lowest places, is an arid expanse of badlands. But at the time of these species, rivers flowed across a vegetated landscape into shallow lakes in a landscape populated by a splendid array of animals. These included giraffes, horses, pigs, elephants, hippos and antelopes as well as predators such as saber-toothed cats and hyenas. Homo is generally thought to have descended from a species of Australopithecus, though the exact species and the timing have been a matter of debate. Australopithecus eventually died out. Australopithecus includes the famous fossil Lucy, who was a member of the species Australopithecus afarensis who lived approximately 3.18 million years ago. Lucy's remains were discovered in 1974, also in the Afar Region. The newly discovered teeth had characteristics that showed they did not belong to Lucy's species, the researchers said. "This new Australopithecus species is in no way some 'missing link,' and we actually don't think that it was necessarily ancestral to any known species," Villmoare said. "Species arose and many went extinct," Reed said. "Each find is a piece of the puzzle that puts human evolution into a twiggy tree, rather than a linear graphic."
