The discovery includes 13 teeth dating back as far as 2.65 million years, providing fresh insight into the early stages of human development. The newly discovered fossils were unearthed in the Ledi-Geraru region of the Afar desert, an area long known for major paleoanthropological discoveries.
The teeth—ten from one individual and three from another—are believed to belong to two separate species. Researchers say one set came from a newly identified member of Australopithecus, a genus predating modern humans. The other set likely belongs to the earliest known species within the Homo genus.
Although scientists have not formally named either species, the fossils represent a significant addition to understanding the timeline and complexity of human evolution in Ethiopia, where many key discoveries have emerged.
Distinct traits suggest a new line of early ancestors
The teeth attributed to Australopithecus display traits distinct from the six previously known species in that genus, leading researchers to classify them as part of a seventh. Meanwhile, the three additional teeth share characteristics with the oldest known Homo species, which was first identified in the same region in 2013 through a jawbone fossil. Both of these sets date from a period when different hominin species may have overlapped in the same environment.
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