Kenyanthropus

Archaeological discoveries in Kenya in 2015, identifying possibly the oldest known evidence of hominin use of tools to date, have indicated that Kenyanthropus platyops may have been the earliest tool-users known.

Fragmentary specimens which were having trouble being classified are now being assessed to see if they fit with the Kenyanthropus.

Having smaller molars at the date they existed, it is possible that the previous sister taxon of all modern hominins, Preanthropus afarensis, should be replaced by Kenyanthropus.

Kenyanthropus platyops was singled out by the morphology of the maxilla, characterized by a flat and relatively orthognathic subnasal region, an anteriorly placed zygomatic process and small molars.

Morphology The Kenyanthropus platyops was examined by Collard and Wood (2001) to have two types of characteristics categorized as craniometric and traditional.

Other features of the Kenyanthropus are thick enamel, steep nasal cavity entrance and moderate mandibular depth.

The cranial structure of the Kenyanthropus has a few similarities to the Australopithecus, such as brain size, parts of the nasal, the suborbital and the temporal regions, but the differences far outweigh the similarities leading to its new genus.

The facial structure of the Kenyanthropus and its derived features were very different of that of the Paranthropus, including almost every cranial feature.

The Kenyanthropus also shows many differences to Homo, as well as Ardipithecus, which leaves only the Australopithecus.