This article was originally published on Sept. 20, 2022.
During the late Miocene epoch, between 5 and 7 million years ago, East Africa looked very different compared to today. Rather than dry deserts, the land that makes up present-day Ethiopia, Chad and Kenya was then densely wooded with rain forests and ample water supply. And within these rugged forests lived a population of primates that would become contemporary humans — millions of years down the line.
