Scientists believe a fossil specimen known as "Little Foot" could be an example of humans' ancestors.
Discovered in a pit in South Africa in 1997, Little Foot is the most complete specimen of the Australopithecus hominid family ever unearthed, the AFP reported.
After careful analysis, researchers believe that the "ape man" named Little Foot for his small bones lived three million years ago, which would put him in the running to be a precursor to modern humans.
The timing is vital to the theory that Little Foot, who stood at just a little more than 3 feet tall, is an important piece in the evolutionary chain.
"There is a lot at stake here," said Laurent Bruxelles from France's National Institute for Archaeological Research, who participated in the study, as reported by the AFP.
"Homo habilis appeared about 2.5 million years ago, which means that Little Foot could not have been our ancestor if it lived later than that."
Little Foot was discovered in South Africa's Sterkfontein cave complex, which some believe should be designated as part of the "Cradle of Humankind," which is recognized by the United Nations as a World Heritage Site.
The specimen was surrounded by calcite deposits dated to 2.2 million years ago in a 2006 study, but researchers now have reason to believe that "ancient erosion and collapse" caused the newer deposits to form around Little Foot.
While critics have said that South Africa is "too young" to hold fossils of human ancestors, the new calculation of Little Foot's age that adds a million years could make him a contemporary of the famous Lucy.
"We are putting Little Foot and South Africa back in the running," Bruxelles said.
Excavated in Ethiopia in 1974, Lucy is a specimen of the Australopithecus genus that has both apelike and humanlike features and is believed to have walked upright.
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