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The Ape That Took Over the World

Can an ancient fossilised skull named 'Flat-Faced Man', recently unearthed by Dr Meave Leakey in Kenya, overturn traditional theories of human evolution?

This year, the discovery of an ancient fossil called "Flat-Faced Man" rocked the world of anthropology. Recently unearthed in Kenya, by the distinguished palaeontologist Dr.Meave Leakey, it is of a possible human ancestor unlike any seen before. It now seems that Flat-Faced Man could well revolutionise our understanding of human evolution. The great mystery of human evolution has always been how and why did humans evolve to be such exceptional and intelligent creatures? Many believed that the fossil record showed we came from a unique line of early ape-like human creatures. But this new skull suggests that far from being descended from a unique line of apes, there were probably many two-legged ape-like creatures that emerged in the last seven million years, any one of which could have been our ancestor. And what's worse, because of this, it now seems that we may never know who our early ancestor was.

50 minutes

Last on

Tue 2 May 2006 11:10

Broadcasts

  • Thu 4 Oct 2001 21:05
  • Wed 9 Jan 2002 20:15
  • Thu 10 Jan 2002 00:05
  • Wed 23 Jan 2002 08:00
  • Wed 23 Jan 2002 11:00
  • Wed 23 Jan 2002 14:00
  • Wed 23 Jan 2002 19:20
  • Wed 6 Feb 2002 18:30
  • Tue 2 May 2006 11:10