The concept of evolution refers to the change of condition that gives rise to a new form of a particular object of study or analysis. It is important to note that evolutions are gradual processes, changes that occur gradually and that can be observed only through the passage of time.
The short individual with great muscular strength, powerful jaws, long arms and a small brain who has just been rescued from the mists of time - and dubbed Australopithecus garhi - by anthropologists adds a new link to the evolutionary chain that leads to the human being..
“You cannot speak of a single link, because the transformation takes place very slowly,” explains Dr. Marta Méndez, researcher at Conicet and the anthropology section of the Museum of Natural Sciences of La Plata, but it is an important finding that helps to complete the phylogenetic tree of the human being. "
According to the theory developed by Charles Darwin, thousands of generations in continuous evolution link the human being with its remote ancestor, the monkey. Between both ends of the road, scientists identified several stations that express the mutations that led to the current reality.
Australopithecines were the first primates to be able to walk upright and with their hands free. "For a long time, scientists debated whether they were our ancestors or cousins," write Johanson and Edey in "Man's First Ancestors."
But, according to the collected evidence, it is assumed that human evolution started from a primitive type, similar to anthropoid apes, which gradually transformed over millions of years. Surely, the scientists say, there was not a sudden leap from the anthropoid to man, but a blurred era of intermediate types that would be difficult to classify into one group or another.
According to Dr. Méndez, the discovery of the team led by Tim White and Berhane Asfaw that was published in the latest issue of the journal Science is remarkable. "We must bear in mind that, due to the time that has elapsed, the conservation of this type of fossil is very problematic," he says. "The three findings, one of which is an antelope with remains that seem to have human treatment, if its contemporaneity is proven, they could show that already at that time there would have been an intervention of hominids ", says Méndez.
But it also clarifies that, beyond the brilliance of the discovery, there is still a lot of work to be done to clear up a number of dark spots. "The group of researchers will have to continue working, they will have to present their results at congresses and submit them for discussion with their peers, a trip like this never ends in a publication."
Among other things, it will be necessary to examine not only macroscopic characters, but also microscopic ones, and expose the samples to close scrutiny of molecular biology.
"You have to work with old DNA, with special techniques that require extreme care, because contamination is very frequent," says Méndez. “There are still a lot of potholes to fill. But this team will surprise us with the new findings in the future. "
