Oldest Skull of Homo Erectus Found

#. Oldest Skull of Homo Erectus Found

 

An international team of paleontologists recently reconstructed a skull from millions of years ago.

It is the oldest known fossil of an ancient human species called Homo erectus.

The discovery was first made in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa, and over the next five years, the scientists unearthed about 150 fragments of the fossil.

When they put the fragments together, they learned that the fossil was the skull of a two-to three-year-old-child.

The toddler was a member of Home erectus, the earliest group of humans.

By examining the skull, the paleontologists gained new insight into the ancient species.

For instance, they dated the fossil as being between 2.04 million and 1.95 million years old.

This made it about 200,000 years older than the previous oldest Homo erectus fossil, which came from Georgia in Eastern Europe.

"With this skull, we now know Homo erectus existed earlier than we had believed," one of the scientists said.

Homo erectus is considered the immediate ancestor of Homo sapiens, as well as other human species such as Neanderthals and Denisovans.

Physically, members of Homo erectus were smaller in size and had a smaller brain than modern-day humans.

Homo erectus was the first ancient human species to master fire and live in caves.

It is also the first to leave Africa and make settlements in other parts of the world, including Europe and Asia.

Then, it went extinct in Africa around 1 million years ago and in Asia 500,000 years ago.

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date …의 연대를 추정하다

For instance, they dated the fossil as being between 2.04 million and 1.95 million years old.

The skeleton has been dated at about 2,000 BC.

 

insight  @  ˈɪnsaɪt  1.통찰력   2.이해, 간파 * get insight into ~에 대한 식견을 갖다

By examining the skull, the paleontologists gained new insight into the ancient species.

With a flash of insight I realized what the dream meant.

 

learn  @ lɜːrn  1.배우다, 학습하다   2.~을 알게 되다   3.(기억하기 위해) 외우다, 암기하다

When they put the fragments together, they learned that the fossil was the skull of a two-to three-year-old-child.

I learnt of her arrival from a close friend. 

We were very surprised to learn (that) she had got married again.

 

unearth @  ʌnˈɜːrθ     (땅속에서) 파내다, 발굴하다 (=dig up)  찾다, 밝혀내다

The discovery was first made in a cave near Johannesburg, South Africa, and over the next five years, the scientists unearthed about 150 fragments of the fossil.

I unearthed my old diaries when we moved house.

 

reconstruct  @  ˌriːkənˈstrʌkt 

1.(손상되거나 없어진 것을) 재건하다   2.(수집한 정보를 기반으로 과거의 사건을) 재구성하다

An international team of paleontologists recently reconstructed a skull from millions of years ago.

They have tried to reconstruct the settlement as it would have been in Iron Age times. 

 

paleontologist  @  pèiliəntɑ́lədƷist  고생물학자

An international team of paleontologists recently reconstructed a skull from millions of years ago.

This discovery is extremely exciting,' the paleontologist added.