Over six million years ago, we split off from our common ancestor with chimps. But, recently, scientists have been finding fossils all over the planet that show that hominins diversified into a wide range of species away from their native Africa.
New Scientist has a wonderful feature about the research called The Lost Humans That Shared Our World. It makes for really compelling reading, but most interesting is this interactive map which shows the sites at which fossils from those lost people have been identified. On the New Scientist site you can click on each pin to learn more about the ancient hominins who eventually, sadly, died out. Go check it out. [New Scientist]
