Beyond the Cradle? Graecopithecus and the Messinian Mystery

By Seth Chagi Graduate Researcher | The World of Paleoanthropology

The “Cradle of Humankind” is a phrase that carries immense scientific and emotional weight. For decades, the consensus in paleoanthropology has been clear: the hominin lineage—the branch of the tree of life leading to us—split from the lineage of chimpanzees and bonobos between 7 and 10 million years ago in Africa. From Sahelanthropus tchadensis in Chad…