Page 74 - Q1 2021

COUNTRY FOCUS

Toumaï

“The ancestor of humanity is Chadian... The cradle
of humanity is in Chad. Toumaï is your ancestor.”
These are the words of Prof. Michel Brunet
announcing the discovery before the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and a television audience in the
capital of N’Djamena.

Toumaï, properly known as Sahelanthropus
tchadensis, is a seven million years-old skull that
was found in Chad by a team from the University
of Poitiers (France) and the international Mission
Paleoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne (MPFT),
directed by Prof. Michel Brunet.

74 | The Lion King | Jan - Mar 2021