The History of Our Tribe Hominini Textbook Part IV Pleistocene Epoch Chapter 20 Australopithecus garhi

20 . southern ape I surprise in the Afar language ) Figure Reconstructed skull . national ( by is licensed under . SITES site in the Middle Awash area of the Afar Depression , Ethiopia PEOPLE Tim White and INTRODUCTION In 1996 , researchers recovered portions of the frontal and parietal bones as well as a maxilla that contained teeth ( see Figure ) These materials were attributed to . While nearby limb bones could not be attributed to the species with absolute certainty , they have been used by some 134

to describe the species characteristics . Thus there is very little useful material to reconstruct this species . sediments also contained bones with cut marks and a few surface cores ( shaped and modified rock ) and flakes ( sharp pieces of rock struck from a core ) were found , suggesting that Au . butchered animal remains and possibly made tools . However , tools in layers would be better evidence . Some believe that the manufactured stone tools at the nearby Gona , Ethiopia , site may have been manufactured by Au . PHYLOGENY The species is likely descended from Au . possibly directly so . Like Au . Au . is thought to have been more terrestrial than the South African . As is the case for the rest of the , some researchers believe them to be ancestral to genus Homo , and what little evidence there is for tool manufacture accords with our lineage . DISCOVERY AND GEOGRAPHIC RANGE The species was discovered in 1996 by Tim White crew , and later became involved . The only fossil material comes from the site in the Middle Awash region of the Afar Depression in Ethiopia . PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The maxilla and teeth are larger and more robust than those of Au . and some researchers lump them with the . Thus like Au . and , Au . were adapted to a broader dietary niche in response to environmental changes , particularly expanding grasslands . If the limb bones are rightfully attributed to the species , they had longer , more humanlike legs than other . Their arms were still apelike , based on the ratio of the arm to forearm length . The cranial capacity was 446 , falling midrange within that of Au . Review of Primitive Characteristics arms . Small brain . Review of Derived Characteristics Robust characteristics . Possibly longer , more legs . 135