Prehistory
Homo naledi: The Rising Star Cave Discovery in South Africa
More than 1,500 fossils from at least 15 individuals were named Homo naledi in 2015; dating in 2017 showed the small-brained species was surprisingly young.
Region
Africa
Prehistory
Jebel Irhoud: The Oldest Known Homo sapiens Fossils in Morocco
New excavations and dating published in 2017 placed the Jebel Irhoud fossils at about 315,000 years old, pushing back the known origin of Homo sapiens by roughly 100,000 years.
Prehistory
Kabwe Skull: The Broken Hill Fossil from Zambia's Lead Mine
The skull was named Homo rhodesiensis in 1921; its 2020 dating to about 299,000 years showed it lived alongside early Homo sapiens and Homo naledi.
Prehistory
Florisbad Skull: An Early Human Ancestor from South Africa
The partial skull, named Homo helmei in 1935 and directly dated in 1996, became a key example of the late archaic to early modern humans of Africa.
Prehistory
Omo Kibish Fossils: Among the Oldest Homo sapiens in Ethiopia
The Omo I and Omo II fossils are now dated to at least about 230,000 years ago, making them among the oldest widely accepted Homo sapiens remains.
Prehistory
Pinnacle Point Cave 13B: Shellfish, Ochre and Early Humans
PP13B provided the oldest well-dated evidence of humans systematically eating shellfish and using red ochre, supporting the idea that coastal resources helped early Homo sapiens survive a harsh glacial period.
Prehistory
Herto Skulls: Homo sapiens idaltu from Ethiopia's Middle Awash
Three crania announced in 2003 provided well-dated evidence of nearly modern humans in Africa about 160,000 years ago, supporting an African origin for Homo sapiens.
Prehistory
Taforalt Cave: Early Shell Beads and Burials in Morocco
Taforalt produced some of the oldest known personal ornaments and one of the largest Late Pleistocene cemeteries in Africa, along with ancient genomes that reshaped understanding of North African population history.
Prehistory
Sibudu Cave: Early Arrows, Bedding and Glue in South Africa
Sibudu became one of the key Middle Stone Age sites for showing that early Homo sapiens used complex technologies, including compound adhesives, likely bows and arrows, and managed plant bedding.
Prehistory
Blombos Cave: Engraved Ochre and the Earliest Known Drawing
Finds at Blombos Cave, published from 2001 onwards, became central evidence that Homo sapiens in Africa made abstract designs, ornaments and pigments tens of thousands of years before the cave art of Ice Age Europe.
Prehistory
Out of Africa: How Homo sapiens Spread Across the World
All living people outside Africa descend mainly from a population that left Africa in this period and mixed along the way with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Prehistory
Diepkloof Rock Shelter: Engraved Ostrich Eggshell Flasks
The shelter produced the largest known collection of Middle Stone Age engraved eggshell, evidence of a shared graphic tradition among early Homo sapiens.