A 2.5-million-year-old fossil of a hominin species called Australopithecus africanus had been discovered in South Africa.

The archeological community has widely accepted the hypothesis that the early hominin species Australopithecus africanus (e.g. Mrs. Ples) descended from A. afarensis (e.g. Lucy). However, “[t]he ...

"Lucy" -- named for the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," which was played in the camp when the scientists celebrated their discovery -- was the most complete hominid skeleton that had ...

A newer dating technique using cosmogenic isotopes finds Australopithecus remains from the Sterkfontein caves to be about 1 million years older than previous estimates, potentially changing scientists ...