The Human Dynasty

The discovery a “central character in the story of human evolution” is named the scientific breakthrough of 2009.

Hominids displayed advanced organizational thinking almost 800,000 years ago

The publication of the Neanderthal genome sequence is imminent, so we may finally be able to determine if they interbred with our ancestors

(Kent State University) Ardipithecus ramidus, or “Ardi,” receives the top honor as the Breakthrough of the Year, named by Science and its publisher, AAAS, the world’s largest science society. “Ardi,” a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago, was unveiled on Oct. 1 by Kent State University Professor of Anthropology Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy and his colleagues.

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science’s list of this year’s most significant scientific breakthroughs. The journal also identifies nine other important scientific accomplishments from this past year in a top ten list, appearing in a special news feature in the journal’s Dec. 18, 2009, issue.

(University of California – Berkeley) The journal Science has named the discovery of “Ardi,” the oldest hominid skeleton ever found, its “Breakthrough of the Year 2009.” An international team co-led by UC Berkeley’s Tim White took 17 years to assemble and analyze the skeleton and thousands of other fossils found with it. The analysis, published in the Oct. 2 Science, revolutionizes our understanding of the earliest human ancestors appearing not long after the human lineage diverged from that of chimps.

(Kent State University) Ardipithecus ramidus, or “Ardi,” receives the top honor as the Breakthrough of the Year, named by Science and its publisher, AAAS, the world’s largest science society. “Ardi,” a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago, was unveiled on Oct. 1 by Kent State University Professor of Anthropology Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy and his colleagues.

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) The research that brought to light the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia, has topped Science’s list of this year’s most significant scientific breakthroughs. The journal also identifies nine other important scientific accomplishments from this past year in a top ten list, appearing in a special news feature in the journal’s Dec. 18, 2009, issue.

(University of Calgary) The consumption of wild cereals among prehistoric hunters and gatherers appears to be far more ancient than previously thought, according to a University of Calgary archaeologist who has found the oldest example of extensive reliance on cereal and root staples in the diet of early Homo sapiens more than 100,000 years ago.

(University of California – Berkeley) The journal Science has named the discovery of “Ardi,” the oldest hominid skeleton ever found, its “Breakthrough of the Year 2009.” An international team co-led by UC Berkeley’s Tim White took 17 years to assemble and analyze the skeleton and thousands of other fossils found with it. The analysis, published in the Oct. 2 Science, revolutionizes our understanding of the earliest human ancestors appearing not long after the human lineage diverged from that of chimps.