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Witness History: Humanity's earliest ancestor

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26/07/2019 GMT

Humanity's earliest ancestor

BBC World Service - Witness History, Humanity's earliest ancestor

A fossilised skull found in Chad is thought to be the earliest-known ancestor of humans

In 2001 a team of palaeontologists discovered a seven million year-old skull in the Djurab desert in Chad.

In July 2001 a team of palaeontologists led by Michel Brunet discovered a seven million year-old fossilised skull in the Djurab desert in Chad. Ahounta Djimdoumalbaye was the member of the team who first uncovered the skull which has been nicknamed Toumai. Freddy Chick has been speaking to Professor Brunet about his hunt for hominid fossils in West Africa. Photo: French palaeontologist Professor Michel Brunet, holding Toumai's skull along with Ahounta Djimdoumalbaye who discovered the skull. (Photo credit Patrick ROBERT/Corbis via Getty Images)

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