Discoveries in Human Evolution
The Rift Valley in East Africa has been a rich source of fossils that allow study of human evolution.
Because the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediments, a favorable environment for the preservation of remains has been created. The bones of several hominid ancestors of modern humans have been found there, including those of "Lucy", a partial, yet eye-opening australopithecine skeleton, which was discovered by anthropologist Donald Johanson dating back over 3 million years. Richard and Mary Leakey have also done significant work in this region.
More recently, two other hominid ancestors have been discovered there: a 10 million year-old ape called Chororapithecus abyssinicus, found in the Afar rift, in eastern Ethiopia, and the Nakalipithecus nakayamai, which is also 10 million years old.
Read more about this topic: East African Rift
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