The History of Our Tribe Hominini Textbook Part II Miocene Epoch Chapter 7 Orrorin tugenensis

. Figure Drawing of fossil material . by Lucius is licensed under . SHES and in the Hills of Kenya PEOPLE Brigitte and Martin 63 INTRODUCTION In 2000 , the team of Brigitte and Martin discovered fossil material ( see Figure ) from the Formation in the Hills of Kenya . Nicknamed Man due to its timely discovery , the fossils were dated to and given the taxonomic classification , original man from the hills ) Initially many were skeptical , especially since the fossils were not made available to the scientific community . While there is still debate , is increasingly in published texts as a , PHYLOGENY The ancestry of is unknown . and believe that is ancestral to humans . They suggest that the tribe split prior to with and some species of ( specifically and , which they place in the genus ) in the human lineage and and robust , or ( including ) on another branch that died out . DISCOVERY AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE There are only two known sites for the species , and , both of which are in the Hills of Kenya ( see Figure ) 39 ' 40 Figure sites , Kenya . by is licensed under . PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Few body parts have been recovered . The fossils consist of a partial humerus , femur , and mandible a distal thumb bone ( phalanx ) and some teeth . Primitive characteristics include remnants of a honing complex , with large canines and a premolar . The molars were covered with thick enamel like those of later , and while they were small like our own , they were not as laterally expanded . and 64 The History of Our Tribe

assert that the femur of is very , with its large head and angle , and thus is part of the human lineage . ENVIRONMENT AND WAY OF LIFE It is generally accepted that was bipedal , and that they likely practiced a similar way of life as the and . Thus , they were likely , foraging both in trees and on the ground and using trees for sleep and safety . However , their more femur and thick molar enamel allies them more with the and they thus likely spent more time on the ground than the and exploited a greater percentage of terrestrial resources that cause more tooth wear . In addition , like , exhibits vestiges of the honing complex and thus may be ancestral to . 65