Scientists believe that evolution of humanity started in East Africa due to a new study obtained after examining the 17-million-year-old-fossil of a whale. Scientists claim that the fossil offers clues regarding the birthplace of humanity.
About the fossil, it was found in 1964 in Kenya. It is the oldest whale fossil present today. The fossil in question was found 740kms inland from the East African coast. This discovery first confused the scientists as beaked whale were known to be deep divers and lived only in deep oceans. It was later assumed that it must have got astray or wandered off into a river which is presently in Kenya. The whale is believed to be 23 foot long and must have lived in the Indian Ocean.
The scientist also reported that the whale was existed when the East African plateau was surrounded by dense forests. It is also assumed that the human ancestors used to live in trees and started walking on two feet after that area got turned into grassland.
Despite the fact that the whale's voyage inland is captivating, the discovery of its fossil is more amazing. With the help of this fossil, scientists are able to research on the East African plateau's uplift and determine the place where humanity started.
Co-author and a paleontologist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, told the Los Angeles Times "The whale is telling us all kinds of things. It tells us the starting point for all that uplift that changed the climate that led to humans. It's amazing."
Frank Brown, who is a geologist at the University of Utah but not involved in this study, told Live Science "Even single specimens of organisms tell us a great deal about the history of the Earth, and they sometimes appear in surprising cases. This is one such case."
This new study has been published on March 16 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
