Surprise! Time to Talk About Australopithecus garhi

Figure 1: Artist rendition of Australopithecus garhi (Source: Smithsonian)

Today’s blog post will be short and sweet as we discuss what little evidence currently exists about a known hominid species: Australopithecus garhi (Figure 1).  This species was discovered on two separate occasions in the 1990s by paleoanthropologists, Berhane Asfaw and Tim White.  They made their discoveries while excavating in the Afar region of Ethiopia.  At the site of Bouri two sets of remains were discovered.  Post-cranial remains making up mostly limbs were found first, and a few years later cranial fragments were discovered in a separate layer.  Taken together they collectively represent one individual, although it is most likely that they are from two separate individuals.  Asfaw and White concluded the two sets of remains belong to one species, which they named Australopithecus garhi, the latter of which means "surprise" in Afar.

 

While there is very little fossilized material available for study paleoanthropologists have reached some interesting conclusions about this species.  First, it dates to about 2.5 million years ago, which is near the end of when Australopithecine species existed.  Also, its teeth are abnormally large, similar to Paranthropocine species, but the identified morphological features of this species exclude it from being classified as such.  It retains various Australopithecine traits, including having quite a prognathic face and retaining a sagittal crest.  What is morphologically unique about this species is its femur bone.  Reconstructions suggest that it is longer than other Australopithecine species, which would mean that this species had a much longer stride compared to its predecessors and contemporaries.

 

This, however, is not the only unique feature of this species.  It was actually found with evidence that suggests it used and potentially created the world’s oldest stone tools, which has called into question who is responsible for these tools.  While it was initially concluded that it was Homo habilis who created these tools it may actually have been Australopithecus garhi.  If this is the case then this means it was Australopithecines who first created stone tools and consumed meat, not Homo species as currently believed. 

 

Unfortunately, there is not enough morphological evidence at this time to establish a more definitive placement of this species within our current hominid lineages.  It has been hoped for decades that additional specimens and evidence would be discovered, but that has not yet happened.  Time will tell and hopefully provide us the necessary evidence to solve these remaining mysteries about this species and our overall hominid family tree.

 

References

Boyd, R., & Silk, J. (2006). How Humans Evolved. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.

Marks, J. (2018). The Alternative Introduction to Biological Anthropology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Smithsonian Institution. (2022, June 30). Australopithecus garhi. Retrieved from Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/australopithecus-garhi

Welsch, R. L., Vivanco, L. A., & Fuentes, A. (2020). Anthropology: Asking Questions About Human Origins, Diversity, and Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.