Australopithecus garhi
- Date
- 1996-1999 · confidence high
- Place
- Bouri, Middle Awash, Afar, Ethiopia
- Credited to
- Berhane Asfaw, Tim White, Yohannes Haile-Selassie and colleagues
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
A skull and bones c. 2.5 Ma old found in 1996-97 at Bouri, described in 1999. The name garhi means 'surprise' in Afar: with it were found animal bones with cut marks made by stone tools.
It is debated whether it is the ancestor of Homo or a side branch; the association with the cut marks is not direct, since it was not found with them.
What it led to
- a candidate ancestor of Homo
- link between australopiths and the first tools
- debate over the origin of the genus Homo