Too early to classify Dikika fossil

University of Pittsburgh anthropologists Jeffrey Schwartz and Ian Tattersall, who compiled the entire human fossil record, have found discrepancies with the new fossil found in Dikika.

They contend that it’s too early to classify this fossil as A. afarensis as it has been, as afarensis was not from Ethiopia so it would be very strange for an actual A. afarensis to be found thousands of kilometres from their usual ground.

It’s possible it could belong to a new taxon, or be more similar to other fossils found in Hadar.