Africa has been titled as the cradle of humanity on account of some of the oldest human and human-like fossils found on the continent. Ethiopia holds central importance in this connection since the oldest human fossils ever found by scientists have been dug out from here.  Scientists and theologians have been equally attracted by these fossil discoveries since they put the religious explanation of human origin to question.

Discoveries of Ethiopian Human Fossils

The most significant human fossils were unearthed, in 1967 on both sides of Omo River in Ethiopia, by a team of paleontologists led by Richard Leakey. The fossils found consisted of two skulls and some bones and were thought to be 130,000 years old. However, the paleontologists were not, at that time, satisfied with their own dating techniques. Thirty-eight years after that, i.e. in 2005, re-dating of the same fossils with advanced techniques revealed them to be at least 195,000 years old. This finding is in conformity with genetic studies carried out on modern human beings.

What brings more heat to the issue of human origin is the discovery of hominid fossils in Ethiopia. These were creatures closely resembling humans but not truly human in the sense we know them today. The intermediate morphology of these fossils places them in between man and ape, the conclusion being that man evolved from ancestors that were not truly human. 

The first significant hominid fossil discovered in Africa was the Taung Child (Australopithecus africanus) from Taung, South Africa. It is thought to be some 2.5 million years old. In 1974, the famous Australopithecine fossil 'Lucy' was unearthed from the Afar depression in Ethiopia. Its age was calculated to be 3.6 to 3 million years. 

Paleontologist Yohannes Haile-Selaissie of the University of California at Berkeley discovered a jawbone and teeth at Ethiopia's Middle Awash area in 1997. More fossils including a hominid tooth were found at the same spot in 2001.  These fossils have been dated as over five million years old.

More recently, hominid fossils of Australopithecus anamensis have been discovered in the Afar desert of eastern Ethiopia. These are some 4.1 million years old and show all the features of an 'ape-man' i.e. a short stature (compared to modern humans), smaller brain (inferred from the skull size), and bigger teeth. Above all, its features reveal bipedal mode of movement i.e. walking on two legs. This last feature is the connecting point of man and ape.    

All these discoveries of fossils in Ethiopia appear to support the generally accepted Out of Africa theory of human origins among evolutionists.