The fossil record of Africa is rich with the remains of our closest relatives – Sahelanthropus tchadensis 7 million years ago, Ardipithecus ramidus 4 million years ago, Kenyanthropus platyops 3.5 million years ago, Homo habilis 2.4 million years ago and Homo heidelbergensis 700,000 to 200,000 years ago – and there is no other region in the world that comes anywhere close to it.
