Dmanisi-Oldest Signs of Hominids in Eurasia.

On 5 August, 2005 hominid skull was discovered on the site Dmanisi, Georgia. The skull age is approximately 1.8 million years. This is fifth hominid skull from Dmanisi. 5 skulls and 4 lower jaws were discovered under 30 sq. meters at this site since 1991. So many remains of earlier hominids have never been found at the same place anywhere in the world. Besides, these traces of old human activities, such as primitive stone tools, and rather rich fauna have been founded in Dmanisi. This fact shows the human evolution stages. Discoveries from Dmanisi are the oldest signs of hominids in Eurasia.

Professor D. Lodrkipanidze comparing the new finding in the basalt layer with a scull unearthed two years ago

Image Credit: Georgian National Museum

David Lordkipanidze, who won a Rolex Award in 2004 for his plans to expand exploration of the earliest known settlement outside Africa, has made more discoveries at the archaeological site underneath the medieval village of Dmanisi, in southeast Georgia.

The discoveries of the 1.77-million-year-old skeletons of three adults and a teenager show that they have legs and feet adapted for long-distance walking and running, similar to those of modern humans, but have hands and arms similar to those of our tree-dwelling ancestors. The ancient Dmanisi inhabitants, who have some human features and some ape-like features, share characteristics with both Homo erectus, originally thought to be the first Homo species to migrate from Africa to Europe, and Homo habilis, the oldest species with human attributes found in Africa.

Image credit: Rolex Awards, Video

For more information: http://www.dmanisi.org.ge/
http://www.museum.ge/web_page/dijest.php