In 2001 a team led by Michel Brunet found a nearly complete skull in the Djurab Desert of Chad, which belongs to Sahelanthropus tchadensis, nicknamed Toumai, meaning 'hope of life'. It lived around seven million years ago, close to the time when the human line split from that of chimpanzees. The skull combines a small brain with a flattened face and small canines, and the position of the opening for the spinal cord suggests that it may have walked upright. It was announced in 2002, and whether it is a direct ancestor or a relative is still debated.
Before and after
- about 66 million years agoCretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction
- about 56 million years agoPaleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
- about 34 million years agoAntarctica freezes over
- about 33.9 million years agoEocene–Oligocene extinction event
- about 7 million years agoSahelanthropus, one of the earliest hominins
- from about 3.3 million years ago to 15,000 years agoPaleolithic
- from about 3.3 million years ago to 302,000 years agoLower Paleolithic
- about 2.7 million years agoGreat American Interchange
- about 2.6 million years agoOldowan
More in Evolution & life
- from about 1.76 million years ago to 150,000 years agoAcheulean
- from 56th century BCE to 20th century BCESumer
- from c. 3,300 BCE to 600 BCEBronze Age
- from 3rd millennium BCE to 2nd millenniumMaya civilization
- from 1200 to 1523Aztec
- 24 November 1974Discovery of Lucy
The era
This moment belongs to the Cenozoic (66 million years ago to 300,000 years ago), the rise of mammals and the ice ages.