The more scientists dig, the more hominid species they find. Most are distant cousins that went extinct without progeny; others are our direct ancestors
1 Ardipithecus ramidus
WHEN SPECIES LIVED 4.4 million years ago
FIRST DISCOVERED Aramis, Ethiopia
COMMENT Exactly where this primitive species belongs and whether it walked upright are still unknown
2 Australopithecus anamensis
[WHEN SPECIES LIVED] 4.2 million to 3.9 million years
[FIRST DISCOVERED] Kanapoi, Kenya
[COMMENT] Shows that our ancestors walked upright at least 500,000 years earlier than previously known
3 A. afarensis
[WHEN SPECIES LIVED] 3.6 million to 2.9 million years
[FIRST DISCOVERED] Laetoli, Tanzania
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