Fossil is clue to early human ancestors

A fossil find in Myanmar suggests the evolution of anthropoids was not rooted solely in Africa as previously thought, researchers say. The discovery of Afrasia djijidae in Myanmar, along with similar finds in China and other Asian countries, has altered scientific opinion about where this group of distant human ancestors first evolved, they said. "Not only does Afrasia help seal the case that anthropoids first evolved in Asia, it also tells us when our anthropoid ancestors first made their way to Africa, where they continued to evolve into apes and humans," said Chris Beard, a paleontologist at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The close similarity in age and anatomy shared by Afrasia and similar fossils from Africa indicates that early anthropoids colonized Africa around 37 million years ago, only shortly before the first anthropoid fossils are found in the African fossil record, researchers said. "Afrasia is a game-changer because for the first time it signals when our distant ancestors initially colonized Africa," Beard said in a Carnegie release Monday. "If this ancient migration had never taken place, we wouldn't be here talking about it." The colonization of Africa by early anthropoids was a pivotal step in primate and human evolution, because it set the stage for the later evolution of more advanced apes and humans there, researchers said. "Reconstructing events like the colonization of Africa by early anthropoids is a lot like solving a very cold case file," he said. "Afrasia may not be the anthropoid who actually committed the act, but it is definitely on our short list of prime suspects."