Early human ancestors one million years older than earlier thought

Fossils from South African cave are 3.4 to 3.6m years old and walked the Earth at same time as east African relatives

The fossils of our earliest ancestors found in South Africa are a million years older than previously thought, meaning they walked the Earth around the same time as their east African relatives like the famous Lucy", according to new research.

The Sterkfontein caves at the Cradle of Humankind world heritage site northwest of Johannesburg have yielded more Australopithecus fossils than any other site in the world.