Indian scientists have discovered a primate jaw in the west of the country, which is estimated to be 10-11 million years old.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE and is briefly described by Phys.org. The find was made in the Katch area of Gujarat.
A team from the Birbal Sakhni Institute of Paleosciences discovered the upper jaw of a "human ancestor" - a primate from the hominoids group. Its representatives are chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas, as well as humans.
X-ray tomography made it possible to study the remains of canines and other teeth, their enamel and roots. Analysis showed that the remains belonged to an adult member of the genus Sivapithecus. However, the species could not be identified.
The authors of the study dated the find to the Late Miocene. In their opinion, the age of the bone is 10-11 million years. By the way, this is the first fossil Miocene monkey that was discovered on the territory of Hindustan.
“This is an important discovery for understanding the evolution of the great apes and humans,” said study co-author Ansuya Bhandari. “We can say that a human ancestor up to 11 million years old was found in Katch.”
Denis Peredelsky
