A species that has a very little amount of facts known about them is Australopithecus (Kenyanthropus) platyops. This species lived around 3.5 mya and was discovered in 1999 by Meave Leakey. "Its small brain and ear canal form are similar to those of earlier members of the human line, while its flat face, high cheekbones, small molars, and thick tooth enamel are similar to early members of the genus Homo." (Odiga, 335) Many paleontologists do not agree that this species should be included in the genus Australopithecus, hopefully, in the future, more fossils will be found to help determine if they are right or wrong in their opinions. It is somewhat likely that sometime in the near future there will either be new discoveries in areas similar to the first that will be done by hand and will end debates or maybe there will be some sort of technology that will allow researchers to search without having to do things such as dig. This may make it possible to keep fossils in better condition if they did not actually have to unearth them before being able to see it good enough to actually conduct research.
YOU ARE READING
The Australopithecines
Non-FictionAn essay I wrote on the genus Australopithecus for my biological anthropology lab. Each chapter is a paragraph.
