A Westbury, NY-based nature enthusiast, Valerie Varnuska enjoys a variety of outdoor activities. Valerie Varnuska is also fascinated by the idea of connecting the present with the past. She keeps up with the latest news and advancements in paleontology. Paleontology studies the history of life on earth as based on fossils. Recently, fossil remains were unearthed 40 kilometers north of Johannesburg in South Africa. Further arrangements of the fragments revealed one of the earliest known skulls of one of the earliest humans to walk the planet, the Homo erectus. Carbon dating of the fossil revealed an age of two million years old. The skull belongs to a child aged between 2 and 3 years at the time of death. Today, Homo erectus fossils are rarely seen and exist only in puzzling fragments. Juvenile skulls are more susceptible to damage over time, which makes these types of discoveries remarkably rare. It is also more challenging to procure sufficient fragments to piece together into an intact skull. The location in which the Homo erectus skull was found established a knowledge base that suggests a relationship between Homo erectus and other types of humans in South Africa. The findings were published in the International Journal of Science.

1. HOMO ERECTUS FOSSIL UNEARTHED
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Valerie Varnuska

2. INTRODUCTION
A Westbury, NY-based nature enthusiast, Valerie Varnuska enjoys a
variety of outdoor activities. Valerie Varnuska is also fascinated by the
idea of connecting the present with the past. She keeps up with the
latest news and advancements in paleontology.

3. Paleontology studies the history of life on earth as based on fossils.
Recently, fossil remains were unearthed 40 kilometers north of
Johannesburg in South Africa. Further arrangements of the
fragments revealed one of the earliest known skulls of one of the
earliest humans to walk the planet, the Homo erectus. Carbon
dating of the fossil revealed an age of two million years old. The
skull belongs to a child aged between 2 and 3 years at the time of
death.

4. Today, Homo erectus fossils are rarely seen and exist only in
puzzling fragments. Juvenile skulls are more susceptible to
damage over time, which makes these types of discoveries
remarkably rare. It is also more challenging to procure sufficient
fragments to piece together into an intact skull.

5. The location in which the Homo erectus skull was found
established a knowledge base that suggests a relationship between
Homo erectus and other types of humans in South Africa. The
findings were published in the International Journal of Science.