Australopithecus Africanus

This is a reconstruction of an early human ancestor 'Australopithecus Africanus' who lived some 3 million years ago. Much is made of the apelike facial features. If humans had evolved from some six million years onwards in a habitat that stretched along river and lake systems, providing access to a mosaic habitat and a steady supply of protein (fish), then by three million years ago our ancestors looked far less apelike as usually depicted. There are good reasons to assume such a link to river systems. Most ancient 'hominid' finds are associated with lakes, rivers and fish. As a 'fringe species' humans would not have specialised to one particular habitat. Woodlands, Savannah, lakes and rivers would have formed part of the human landscape. Bushfires were not a threat but an opportunity for easy access to meat. It is possible that humans became interested in fire and cooked food, setting parts of the grassland on fire, trapping wildlife with their back to river systems. 3 million yearold footprints of ancient hominids strolling 'playfully' and arm in arm on vulcanic ash may document such an ease with charred environments.

Large jaws probably persisted until early humans permanently changed their diet to cooked food. From about 2.5 million years ago onwards there were severe droughts. Roots and tubas probably became an important stable food for humanity. Prof. Wrangham has shown the impact of the calorific intake once cooking aided the release of calories in these foods. These early humans already used complex stone tools. Human culture is very ancient. All traditional human building materials are associated with river habitats (clay, reeds, stones, sand, wood).