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When did the earliest undisputed fossils of Homo appear?

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Side view illustration of Australopithecus afarensis, an early human ancestor, shown walking upright with a hairy body and ape-like facial features. A scale beside the figure marks 12 inches and 40 centimeters. — Australopithecus Artist's rendering of *Australopithecus afarensis*, which lived from 3.8 to 2.9 million years ago.

The earliest undisputed fossils attributed to the genus Homo date to approximately 2.8 million years ago (mya). This evidence is based on a mandible discovered in 2015 at the Ledi-Geraru site in Ethiopia, which exhibits anatomical features characteristic of later Homo species, such as tooth reduction and a specific dental arch shape, while retaining some traits associated with Australopithecus afarensis.1

Other significant early findings include a jawbone from Uraha Hill, Malawi, dated to 2.4 mya, which is also recognized as one of the oldest occurrences of the genus Homo. Additionally, a palate discovered at Hadar, Ethiopia, has been dated to 2.4 million years ago. These discoveries have been instrumental in shifting the focus of paleoanthropology toward understanding the origins and early evolutionary history of the human genus.21