# 3-million-year-old Taung Child once again shakes up our human family tree

Source: [Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-million-year-taung-child-human.html) · 2026-11-09 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/3-million-year-old-taung-child-once-again-shakes-up-our-human-family-tree-df52f7471fc8fa7e
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- A new study in npj Palaeoecosystems dates the Taung Child fossil to between 2.96 and 3.03 million years old.
- The study is led by professor Gabriele Macho.
- The dating revisits the fossil that shaped views of human origins a century after its discovery.

## Why it matters

The date places the Taung Child, an early hominin fossil, at about 3 million years, which affects how researchers position it in the human family tree.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09: New study dating the Taung Child fossil to 2.96–3.03 million years reported

## Coverage

- [3-million-year-old Taung Child once again shakes up our human family tree](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-million-year-taung-child-human.html) — Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology, 2026-11-09

Tags: human evolution, taung child, hominin fossils, dating, palaeoanthropology

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science