Question

unit 1 - challenge 1.1: science basics
current research indicates the oldest distant relative to humans was:
a.) denisovans
b.) australopithecus
c.) homo erectus
d.) neanderthals
submit my answer
sports headline
new york giants...

Explanation:

• Denisovans: They are an extinct hominin species. Fossil evidence suggests they lived in Asia from around 300,000 to 50,000 years ago.
• Australopithecus: This genus of hominins lived in Africa between approximately 4.2 million and 1.2 million years ago. They are considered one of the earliest human ancestors and are more ancient compared to the other options.
• Homo erectus: Lived from about 1.9 million to 143,000 years ago. They were more advanced than Australopithecus but appeared later in the evolutionary timeline.
• Neanderthals: Lived in Europe and parts of Asia from about 400,000 to 40,000 years ago. They are more recent in the evolutionary timeline compared to Australopithecus.

Since the question asks for the oldest distant relative, we compare the time periods of each species. Australopithecus has the earliest start - time in the evolutionary record among the given options.

Answer:

B. Australopithecus