Anthropology

that has been dated several different ways to 6.2 to 5.8 million years ago, around the time our DNA says a common ancestor split into what would become us and what would be chimpanzees and bonobos. Orrorin seems to have erred on the side of humanity, a largely tree dwelling creature who walked fully upright on the forest floor instead of the hybrid movements of chimps and bonobos. We have yet to find that elusive common ancestor.

Even modern humans have been pushed back a bit, 300,000 year old remains have been found in Morocco, far outside the supposed range of our earliest ancestors and 100,000 years older than the others.

Research into this stuff is proceeding at a dizzying pace.