South African Fossils Push Homo erectus Back 200,000 Years

Researchers described 18 hominin fossils from Drimolen Cave in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind. An adult Homo erectus skull fragment dated to about 2 million years ago suggests the species reached southern Africa earlier than previously thought. The site also produced Paranthropus robustus remains that point to gradual increases in tooth size and chewing muscle strength as the climate shifted.

The Drimolen Main Quarry, part of South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind, was found in 1992 and dug through 2019, yet many recovered specimens had not been formally studied. The new work, published in Annals of Human Biology, describes 18 hominin fossils and names DNH 127 as the site’s first adult Homo erectus remains. At roughly 2 million years old, it predates adult examples from Dmanisi, Georgia, by about 200,000 years.

The collection also tracks Paranthropus robustus between about 2 million and 1.8 million years ago. Its molars grew larger and its chewing muscles became more powerful, while Homo erectus developed a bigger brain and smaller molars. At Drimolen, P. robustus apparently greatly outnumbered Homo erectus, showing two relatives sharing one landscape but following different evolutionary routes.

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