Sahelanthropus tchadensis

Where Lived:

Western Africa (Chad)

When Lived:

Sometime between 7 and 6 million years ago

Sahelanthropus Tcadensis was discovered in West- Central Africa (Northern Chad) by a French- Chadian expedition led by Michel Brunet. The fossils were discovered in the desert by a team of four; three Chadians, Mahamat Adoum and Ahounta Djimdoumalbaye (who found the skull on July 19, 2001 in the southern Sahara desert), Fanone Gongdibe, and Alain Beauvilain, the French team leader. All fossils of Sahelanthropus were found between July 2001 to March 2002.

Site: Toros Menala, Chad

TM 266 locality (16°15′N, 17°29′E)

Biochronological estimation of the hominid remains showed late Miocene (≈7 Ma) at TM 266. Atmospheric ¹⁰Be, a cosmogenic nuclide, was used to quasicontinuously date the unit. The 28 ¹⁰Be/⁹Be ages obtained within the anthracotheriid unit containing Toumaï bracket, by absolute dating, the age of Sahelanthropus tchadensis to lie between 6.8 and 7.2 Ma.

The first, and so far, the only complete skull has been found and is nicknamed “Toumai” which means “a hope of life” in the local Goran language of Chad. Usually people give this name to babies which were born right before the dry season and whose chances for survival are dramatically low.

Michel Brunet is Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Poiters in south-western France. For a decade he has been working in Chad. In 2002 he published a cranium of the Sahelanthropus tchadensis, the oldest human ancestor in Nature. The cranium was found in Chad. Australopithecus bahrelghazali, dated around 3.5 Ma was described as another hominin specie. In Chad, he founded and works as Head of, the the international transdisciplinary team: M.P.F.T.(Mission Paleoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne) a scientific collaboration between the University of Poitiers, N'Djamena and CNAR (N'Djamena). Professor Brunet was born in 1940 in Vienne, France, and received a Bachelor's degree in Life Science, Licence es Sciences de Doctorat, and Ph.D. in Paleontology from the University of Paris. He obtained his D.Sc. in Life Science from the University of Poitiers.

• The research program benefits from support of French and Chadian Ministry of the Enseignement supйrieur et de la Recherche.


• The program is covered by a research agreement in Palaeontology between the University of Poitiers, the C.N.A.R. and the University of N'Djamena.


• Field excavations and laboratory analyses are conducted by the M.P.F.T.


• From a financial point of view, the M.P.F.T. benefits from support from :




• University of Poitiers;


• C.N.R.S.: transversal program PEH (until 2000) and ECLIPSE (since 2000);


• Ministry of foreign affair: Direction of the Coopйration Scientifique Universitaire et de Recherche (Paris); Service de Coopйration et d'Action Culturelle of the French embassy in N'Djamena;


• Poitou Charentes region: Conseil Rйgional;


• Vienne Department: Conseil Gйnйral;


• Elf Industries (until 1999);


• Philip Morris scientific association price.


• From a logistic point of view, the M.P.F.T. benefits from the support of the French army : MAM and EPERVIER.

Ahounta Djimdoumalbaye, undergraduate Life Science student at the University of N'Djamena, the best M.P.F.T. fossil "hunter", found the new hominid cranium in July the 19^th, 2001. Ahounta has found half of the six fossil hominid remains (one cranium, two lower jaw fragments, three isolated teeth) discovered by the M.P.F.T. from July 2001 to February 2002.

Size of TM 266-01-060-1 skull suggests that Sahelanthropus tchadensis was similar in size to a chimpanzee. The remains represent six or nine individuals.

· Brain capacity is (360-370 cc) a little bit smaller than chimpanzee’s.

· Prominent brow ridges

· Small front teeth

· Canines are relatively undeveloped and flat

· The thickness of dental enamel is mid-way between chimp and later Astralopithecus

· Elongated skull

· Short middle part of the face

· Spinal cord opening beneath the skull

· Foramen magnum is positioned forward

There has been a lot of debates weather Sahelanthropus tchadensis was bipedal or not, however he was positioned into a chart of early human ancestors.

Teeth are heavily worn, and tooth wear or tooth isotope have not been studied yet to indicate a diet. However, based on the environment and other early human species we can presume that they ate a mainly plant- based diet, probably included leaves, fruits, seeds, roots, nuts and insects. An average day for Sahelanthropus chadensis would be in search for food and avoidance of predators.