c. 3850000 BCE–c. 2950000 BCE
Known early range of *Australopithecus afarensis*
Human evolution & hominins · Australopitecos · Diversidad de homininos · Locomoción en mosaico
*Australopithecus afarensis* is documented in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania roughly 3.85–2.95 million years ago, so it overlaps with other hominin forms and varied environments. Its fossils include traits compatible with both terrestrial bipedal walking and climbing. Its relative abundance of remains does not make the species a single “link” or demonstrate that it was the direct ancestor of all later hominins.
Precision, calendar, and review
- Start
- year · approximate
- End
- year · approximate
- Calendar and convention
- Historical-era years; the source calendar is not identified. No conversion of days is assumed.
- Year zero
- The scale goes from 1 BCE to 1 CE without year zero. Changing era names changes labels only.
- Documentary review
- Date not recorded
Reading the date: duration of a process.
Sources
- humanorigins.si.edu (opens in a new tab)
Source provenance and scope
- Publication date
- Not identified in metadata; document review pending
- Source updated
- 2026-04-06
- Bibliographic date checked
- 2026-09-23
The correspondence between this reference and individual claims has not yet been itemized.
This record is an editorial synthesis. Consult the sources to check claims and their limits. Chronological relationships alone do not establish causation.