[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":142},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-sahelanthropus-tchadensis-en":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"keywords":4,"slug":6,"author":7,"status":4,"defaultLang":4,"ogImage":8,"ogType":9,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"isDeleted":4,"availableLangs":4,"i18nMeta":12,"relatedBlogs":23},null,"乍得沙赫人","sahelanthropus-tchadensis","卜可","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770170445594_000124_1709627786938.jpg","article","2026-02-04T10:00:54","2023-11-24T12:26:38",{"name":13,"h1Title":14,"title":15,"subtitle":4,"keywords":16,"content":17,"overview":4,"description":18,"ogTitle":19,"ogDescription":20,"preface":4,"note":4,"langCode":21,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"priority":22,"author":7},"Chadian Shah","The Earliest Ancestors of Humans: Chadian Shah and \"Tumay\"","Chadian Shah people Tumai | 7 million years ago the earliest human ancestors | human evolution","Sahelanthropus,tchadensis,ChadianShah,Australopithecus,Tumay","## Introduction of Chadian Shah\n\nThe Chadian Shah (Sahelanthropus Tchadensis), also known as Chadian apes, were discovered between July 2001 and March 2002 by a team led by French paleontologist Michel Brunet (Michel Brunet) in northern Chad, south of the Sahara desert in the central African country. It mainly includes a fairly complete skull fossil, nicknamed**Toumaï (Toumaï)**, which means \"hope of life\" in Chadian local language, and was found in (Djurab) in the \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Djurab Desert\" lon=\"18\" lat=\"17\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Deshara Desert\u003C/span>.\n\nThe era of the Chadian Shah people was in the late Miocene (23 million years ago -5.33 million years ago). The once vast ancient \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Mediterranean Sea\" lon=\"18\" lat=\"34\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Mediterranean\u003C/span> (Tethys) was nearly extinct under the constant pressure of plate movement. It also dried up and bottomed out, connecting Eurasia and Africa. The Himalayas in the distance have just begun to rise, but this later \"roof of the world\" is still inconspicuous. 5 million years ago, its average height was about 2300 meters, only slightly higher than the present Huashan Mountain.\n\nThis species may be a common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, and is currently (2024) recognized as the earliest hominid species (conditioned by two-legged walking), living in west-central Africa (now Chad) about 7 million to 6 million years ago. The environment they live in should be a sparse forest, and the species should be able to walk upright, thus helping them survive in a variety of habitats, including forests and grasslands.\n\nAt present, we have only found the skull fossils of the Chadian Shah, but the existing research shows that the species has the characteristics of both apes and humans. Among the characteristics of apes are: small brain volume (even slightly less than that of chimpanzees), oblique face, extremely prominent brow bones, and long, narrow skull. Human-like features include tiny fangs, a short middle of the face, and a spinal cord opening below the skull rather than behind it. Among them, the location of the spinal cord opening is crucial, a feature that differs significantly from non-bipedal walking apes.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704334639478.jpg\" alt=\"Toumaï 图迈的头骨\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by EOL & Smithsonian NMNH\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">Tumay's skull proves that the species has a cerebellum and a slanted face, much like a chimpanzee. The size of the skull indicates that the individual was a male. The small, flat fangs are unusual for male primates and one of the earliest distinctive features of humans. The skull (foramen magnum) gave scientists evidence that they were able to walk upright. Tumai lived in an open, open forest, very much the same large, closed forest that chimpanzee ancestors lived in.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/1760236735428_Sahelanthropus_tchadensis_-_TM_266-01-060-1_Global_fond.jpg\" alt=\"不同角度的图迈头骨\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus\" target=\"_blank\">Wikipedia\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">different angles of the Tumai skull.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nAlthough there is still some controversy, the population represented by Tumai is currently (2023) considered to be the first species to evolve the ability to walk upright. The skull's foramen magnum (the opening at the base of the skull that connects to the cervical spine) is located on the underside of the skull, more anterior than in apes and other primates. This feature suggests that the Chadian Shah's head is able to be supported on an upright body and is closely related to bipedal walking.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-v1\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704334678211.png\" alt=\"人类与黑猩猩的枕骨大孔位置对比\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by Bing\n\u003C/span>\nComparison of the location of the foramen magnum in \u003Cp class=\"description\">humans and chimpanzees, and the location of the occipital bone in Tumay (right). In the absence of other skeletal fossils, the foramen magnum is one of the key pieces of evidence to determine whether early human ancestors walked upright. Based on this important feature, the mainstream view in the academic community is that Tumay can walk on two feet, but his gait is more primitive, not as robust as the later Australopithecus, which also determines its position in the human evolution map.\n\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1709627786938.jpg\" alt=\"米歇尔·布吕内教授与图迈\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by \u003Ca href=\"https://etab.ac-poitiers.fr/coll-jean-rostand-thouars/spip.php?article1598\" target=\"_blank\">etab.ac-poitiers.fr\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">Professor Michel Brunet and Tourmey's facial restoration. In 2020, a team of researchers disagreed, arguing that the Chadian Shah appeared to be closer to walking on all fours than standing upright; if confirmed, the species would likely be moved out of the human family tree. From this, we can also see that it is not easy to determine the trajectory of human evolution.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\nTumay's discovery also helped paleoanthropologists overturn a popular \"East Side Story\" theory: about 8 million years ago, the formation of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa caused physical isolation between human ancestors and chimpanzees. The ancestors stayed east of the Great Rift Valley, while the chimpanzees were separated to the west of the Great Rift Valley. The two then evolved separately, eventually forming two different species. However, the location where Tumay was found is about 3000 kilometers away from the Great Rift Valley. Obviously, the distribution of ancient humans in Africa is much larger than expected, so the theory of \"East Side Story\" is invalid.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/s00016/000124_1704334713107.png\" alt=\"乍得沙赫人艺术想象图\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nPhoto by: Smithsonian NMNH\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">the artistic imagination of the Chadian Shah.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n### Extended reading\n\n\u003Ca href=\"/summary/earth-timeline\" target=\"_blank\">Earth Timeline\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"/summary/evolution-of-humans\" target=\"_blank\">human evolution\u003C/a>\n\n## References\n\n\n\n《给智人的极简人类进化史》 [法] 希尔瓦娜·孔戴米 / [法] 弗朗索瓦·萨瓦提埃；李鹏程[译]；海峡书局 2021-07\n\n《人类起源和迁徙之谜》李辉；上海科技教育出版社 2020\n\n《硬核原始人》何叶紫；浙江文艺出版社 2020-11\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.si.edu/object/3d/sahelanthropus-tchadensis-cranium:9730a62f-a649-44fb-8494-aa7c9b6eb1f8\" target=\"_blank\">乍得沙赫人 3D 模型\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-origin-of-our-species.html\" target=\"_blank\">The origin of our species\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://www.archaeology.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Archaeology\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahelanthropus\" target=\"_blank\">Sahelanthropus\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/sahelanthropus-tchadensis\" target=\"_blank\">What does it mean to be human?\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n---\n","The Chadian Shah (Tumai), the earliest known hominid species, lived in Africa 7 million years ago. This article describes its discovery, the characteristics of the skull, the evidence of upright walking, and how it rewrites the history of human evolution.","Chad Sahelanthropus: 7 million years ago, the earliest known human ancestor, “Toumaï”","Chadian Shah, also known as Chadian apes, this species may be the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees, and it is also recognized as the earliest human species. This paper introduces its discovery, characteristics and significance.","en",0.7,[24,32,38,46,54,61,68,75,83,91,99,106,113,121,128,135],{"id":25,"name":26,"keywords":4,"slug":27,"author":7,"ogImage":28,"isBlog":4,"createDate":29,"updateDate":30,"description":31},"f57e163efcf24ea8b230b0c200911ef8","The oldest known human member—Orrorin tugenensis","orrorin-tugenensis","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770170182584_1760324824811_the-origin-of-our-species2.jpg","2026-02-25T14:47:25","2026-06-05T11:35:17","Orrorin tugenensis, also known as the “Millennium Man,” lived in Africa 6 million years ago and is one of the earliest known hominins to have walked upright. This paper presents the fossil discoveries, morphological characteristics, and evolutionary significance of this taxon.",{"id":33,"name":4,"keywords":4,"slug":34,"author":7,"ogImage":35,"isBlog":4,"createDate":36,"updateDate":36,"description":37},"b03a4da682ff469189c55b7db325a9cc","australopithecus-garhi","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175774943_000124_1704333478298.jpg","2026-02-25T16:47:20","The amazing species of Australopithecus lived in Ethiopia about 3.3 million years ago. It was in the same period or even partially overlapped with the famous Afar species of Australopithecus (such as \"Lucy\"), which proved the diversity of human evolution and completely changed the previous The simple view of \"straight line evolution\" of human origin",{"id":39,"name":40,"keywords":4,"slug":41,"author":7,"ogImage":42,"isBlog":4,"createDate":43,"updateDate":44,"description":45},"5238590091ac4fbc9f8cd7c06b109323","Afa Australopithecus","australopithecus-afarensis","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175627090_000124_1714358823400.jpg","2026-02-25T16:00:00","2026-03-09T12:19:43","Australopithecus Afa is a vital species in the history of early human evolution. It lived in Africa more than 300 million years ago. The most famous representative is the fossil skeleton called \"Lucy\". She is also jokingly called \"The grandmother of mankind\", behind her is the \"first family\" of mankind \".",{"id":47,"name":48,"keywords":4,"slug":49,"author":7,"ogImage":50,"isBlog":4,"createDate":51,"updateDate":52,"description":53},"c8b43140a14a4375842288822a8e9d23","Aldi ape","ardipithecus-ramidus","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770177236835_000124_1704334273316.jpg","2026-02-25T15:38:47","2026-02-26T19:35:14","The Aldi ape is a common name for the species of the ancient human fossil \"Aldi. It is one of the earliest known members of the hominid family and occupies a vital position in the history of human evolution.",{"id":55,"name":56,"keywords":4,"slug":57,"author":7,"ogImage":28,"isBlog":4,"createDate":58,"updateDate":59,"description":60},"c63210efa56b4a2cb684376254bdc611","The Birth of Mankind","human-origin","2026-02-25T00:25:33","2026-02-26T16:38:25","Human beings used to think that they were very \"advanced\" and different, a special existence created by \"gods\" according to their own image or preferences, but since the era when Darwin published the Origin of species, people's traditional cognition of the origin of life has been subverted. Now we know that the history of mankind is not long, only about 7 million years.",{"id":62,"name":63,"keywords":4,"slug":64,"author":7,"ogImage":65,"isBlog":4,"createDate":66,"updateDate":66,"description":67},"f7684aff24744766b9849f56b04617f2","Longshan Culture","longshan-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1780474978266_longshan-culture8.jpg","2026-06-05T15:10:49","The Longshan Culture is one of the most important archaeological cultures of the Late Neolithic period in China, dating from approximately 4,500 to 4,000 years ago. This article systematically examines the origins and geographical distribution of the Longshan Culture, its black‑ware pottery techniques, social stratification, the emergence of proto‑writing, prehistoric urban sites, and its relationship with the Erlitou Culture of the Xia Dynasty, thereby illuminating a crucial phase in the formation of Chinese civilization.",{"id":69,"name":70,"keywords":4,"slug":71,"author":7,"ogImage":72,"isBlog":4,"createDate":73,"updateDate":73,"description":74},"a5e600c3d725475595abfd581b704176","Hongshan Culture","hongshan-culture","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1780389885606_hongshan-culture62.jpg","2026-06-02T20:46:01","Hongshan Culture is one of the most important late Neolithic archaeological cultures in northern China, renowned for the Niuheliang site, the Goddess Temple, the cairn tombs, and its exquisite jade artifacts. This article provides a systematic overview of the Hongshan Culture, covering its chronological framework, geographical distribution, agricultural practices, jade-crafting traditions, and its pivotal significance for research on the origins of Chinese civilization.",{"id":76,"name":77,"keywords":4,"slug":78,"author":7,"ogImage":79,"isBlog":4,"createDate":80,"updateDate":81,"description":82},"47281d4cfe6e440e97e2ca10729e61f6","Homo erectus","homo-eractus","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770175824343_000124_1709605257579.jpg","2023-11-23T15:48:07","2026-03-12T10:23:51","Homo erectus, which existed about 1.8 million to 200000 years ago, is a critical and successful species in the history of human evolution. Their body proportions are close to those of modern people. They can systematically use fire and make complex tools. They not only created the Acheri culture, but also made human beings walk out of Africa for the first time, which can be called a milestone in the evolution of the human genus.",{"id":84,"name":85,"keywords":4,"slug":86,"author":7,"ogImage":87,"isBlog":4,"createDate":88,"updateDate":89,"description":90},"d90a829e9d7e4138af470f7451aa5107","Tutankhamun","tutankhamen","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278680370_720_000176_1762998682805_000176_1710122449266.jpg","2026-03-04T12:42:48","2026-03-04T16:54:16","Tutankhamun is the most famous pharaoh in ancient Egypt. It is not because of his achievements, but because of his unstolen KV62 tomb and gold mask that shocked the world and solved many mysteries of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt.",{"id":92,"name":93,"keywords":4,"slug":94,"author":7,"ogImage":95,"isBlog":4,"createDate":96,"updateDate":97,"description":98},"8f6adef1f3eb4d62ad48ffd2897d9ba0","Y chromosome Adam","y-chromosomal-adam","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770276518548_720_1763566058169_y-chromosomal-adam.jpg","2026-02-27T00:04:54","2026-03-04T22:24:49","What is Y chromosome Adam? This article explains the paternal inheritance of Y chromosome, molecular clock age, African origin of 120000 year, and the difference between it and mitochondrial Eve.",{"id":100,"name":101,"keywords":4,"slug":102,"author":7,"ogImage":103,"isBlog":4,"createDate":104,"updateDate":104,"description":105},"f77439bc374d47d6a738373cc900017a","The founding of the city of Carthage","establishment-of-carthage","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770283657313_720_1765467646917_Dido.jpg","2026-03-08T22:24:07","In the 9th century BC, the Phoenician princess Dido founded Carthage in North Africa. This paper examines how Carthage evolved from a refuge trading post into the most powerful commercial empire in the Mediterranean, explores the context of the conflict between Punic culture and Greek colonists, and analyzes how Carthage came to be Rome’s destined rival.",{"id":107,"name":108,"keywords":4,"slug":109,"author":7,"ogImage":110,"isBlog":4,"createDate":111,"updateDate":111,"description":112},"e95c775480f547f9b889c30cf3d785cc","Tielepin edict","telepinu-proclamation","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278424562_720_1764160453480_Telepinu-Proclamation.jpg","2026-03-05T20:05:04","Infighting within the Hittite royal family was frequent. To address this, Telepinu issued the Telepinu Proclamation, which standardized the succession to the throne and imposed limits on royal authority. Despite its profound historical significance, it failed to put an end to palace assassinations.\n",{"id":114,"name":115,"keywords":4,"slug":116,"author":7,"ogImage":117,"isBlog":4,"createDate":118,"updateDate":119,"description":120},"d61ebb9a9f7c48b9a4a67bcb9edc73d0","Reformation in Ehnaon","akhenaten-aten-god-reform","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278654850_720_000176_1710122409119.jpg","2026-03-04T12:22:41","2026-03-04T16:53:43","Ehnatun (Amenhotep IV) was the most controversial pharaoh in ancient Egypt. He carried out the religious reform, abolished the god of Amun, respected the god of Aton, and moved the capital of Ehtarton. Although the reform failed, it left the earliest bud of monotheism and the statue of Queen Naftiti.",{"id":122,"name":123,"keywords":4,"slug":124,"author":7,"ogImage":125,"isBlog":4,"createDate":126,"updateDate":126,"description":127},"cb709ac6ad83472d9da5c8867b45289d","The end of the Egyptian Empire","downfall-of-egyptian-empire","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770283044845_720_1765021735012_Rulers_of_Kush_Kerma_Museum.jpg","2026-03-04T22:40:34","The end of the Egyptian imperial era began with the murder of Ramses III, the harassment of the sea, the dictatorship of the priests, the prevalence of tomb robberies and the workers' strike, which eventually led to the collapse of the new kingdom and the return of ancient Egypt to its former glory.",{"id":129,"name":130,"keywords":4,"slug":131,"author":7,"ogImage":132,"isBlog":4,"createDate":133,"updateDate":133,"description":134},"cb379ebd67614a04b01b318201ccf1c6","The heyday of Mycenaean civilization","mycenaean-palatial-bronze-age","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278551734_720_000186_1715741489174.jpg","2026-03-05T20:40:37","The Mycenaean civilization entered its heyday in the 15th century BC, controlling the Aegean region, building acropolis and palaces, and unearthed a large number of gold relics, which were revealed by Schliman's archaeological discoveries.",{"id":136,"name":137,"keywords":4,"slug":138,"author":7,"ogImage":139,"isBlog":4,"createDate":140,"updateDate":140,"description":141},"b59e3b5120294f44ad7bc049bf50c386","Ancient Egyptian civilization died out","decline-and-fall-of-ancient-egyptian-civilization","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770290955170_720_000212_1756715712173_Sais-of-Egypt2.jpg","2026-03-05T00:32:09","In 525 BC, the Persian Empire Cambyses II conquered Egypt and destroyed the 26th Dynasty. The last native pharaoh era of ancient Egypt ended, and the ancient Egyptian civilization, which lasted for more than 2,500 years, went to extinction.",1780647327878]