Recent discoveries in paleoanthropology, which is the study of ancient humans, have changed how we think about how we evolved. Here are some important findings and what they mean:

1. New Species Found:

   • In 2013, scientists discovered a species called Homo naledi in South Africa. This species has both old and new traits. It likely lived between 335,000 and 236,000 years ago. This suggests that our evolution is more complicated than we thought.

2. Updated Timeline of Human Species:

   • Fossils from two species, Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Ardipithecus ramidus, show that our human-like ancestors first appeared about 7 million and 4.4 million years ago. This challenges the idea that evolution is a straight line.

3. Mixing of Species:

   • Studies of DNA show that modern humans had babies with Neanderthals and Denisovans. It's believed that people today who are not from Africa have about 1-2% Neanderthal DNA in them.

4. Impact of the Environment:

   • Research in East Africa shows that changes in the environment were important in how we evolved. These changes helped our ancestors walk on two legs and use tools.

These discoveries highlight how complex our history is. The journey to becoming modern humans was not simple; it was more like a branching tree with many different human species living together and influencing each other.