Back in March, it was reported the a lower jawbone with five teeth had been discovered in Ethiopia. This jawbone is thought to be the oldest remains belonging to the Homo genus of which we are a part. The toothy discovery is thought to be 2.8 million years old and pushes humans' evolutionary timeline back a further 400,000 years more than previously thought. Although it doesn't really make any scientific sense to talk about "missing links" anymore, the species that these few teeth belonged to could well represent the evolutionary link between Australopithecus afarensis and Homo habilis. At the time when this jawbone was attached to a living person's face, the human race's ancestors were undergoing a crucial period of change. It was during this time that we began using tools and solving problems with our rapidly growing brains, starting us on our journey as the "thinking" species we are today. Despite the significance of this moment it time, we still know precious little about it, so the discovery of this jawbone sheds a helpful beam of light onto our dim, distant evolutionary past.
