14 DAY TRIAL // The discovery of Salem, the world oldest child fossil discovered (see more details in article bellow), triggered a lot of questions.
Scientists were astonished by the unusually complete skeleton.
Found in Dikika, Afar region of Ethiopia, the same spot of the famous Lucy, "the fossil is remarkably well preserved for a specimen of such antiquity ( 3.3 millions years) " said Jonathan Wynn. "Juvenile specimens in such a pristine state of preservation are known from much later species, such as the Neanderthals, while most of the early pre-humans are known from a few teeth and isolated and disarticulated bones."
Salem preserves a complete face, features of the brain in detail, extremely fragile hyoid bone, shoulder girdle bones, vertebrae, rib bones, fingers, leg bones and metatarsals.
The well preserved bones will permit scientists to understand more about locomotion, speech, brain development in early humans.
"This unique preservation will provide anthropologists with many clues as to early human adaptations such as upright walking and the potential for - or lack of - the capacity for speech," noted Wynn.
Geologists studied the geological environment in which it lived 3.3 million years ago and led to the exceptional preservation of Salem's body.
"In this part of Ethiopia's developing rift valley, the floor of the rift was dropping down very rapidly due to the spreading of Earth's crustal plates that define the rift zones of East Africa," explained Wynn. "Rapid rates of tectonic activity provided the setting for rapid accumulation of sediments which buried the fossil shortly after death."
Salem was buried in sediments during a flooding event. He may have died in the flood, or at least only a few days prior. The fresh body was encapsulated in sediment as a corpse leading to the preservation on exquisite detail of the bones.
"Our approach also provided answers about the paleoenvironment and the complex geological history of the site," said Wynn.
"We were also able, through an examination of the local geology, and especially the active volcanic history of the region, to provide a solid geological date for the fossil."
Diana Roman, a volcanology professor at the University of South Florida, identified in the volcanic glass the eruptions during the age of the fossil.
"Volcanoes thought to have been active during the time that "Lucy's child" lived, and which are preserved in the geological record, may have influenced the local environments and influenced the habitats that the she lived in," suggested Roman.
At the same site and age were found fossils of a hippo, crocodile and of freshwater snails which show that permanent water was present in a delta at the intersection of a river and a lake.
Other fossils of antelopes are similar to modern East African antelopes that live in closed woodlands, while species such as the white rhinoceros, elephants, and ancient wildebeest indicate the presence of a savanna habitat.
"Our analysis indicates that a mosaic of habitats were present, and all of these environments were close enough that "Lucy's child" and her immediate family would have been able to find refuge and food resources in some of the more densely wooded habitats like the forests, but also would have been able to exploit food resources in the grasslands nearby," concluded Wynn.