Early Human Tooth dating to 1.8 million years ago Discovered in Georgia

Fresh evidence that the Caucasus may have been one of the earliest sites that early humans settled outside of Africa.

A tooth from an ancient species of humans, likely Homo erectus, that dates back 1.8 million years has been found close to the Georgian village of Orozmani, which is located around 60 miles south-west of Tbilisi, the country's capital. This location is close to Dmanisi, where in the late 1990s and early 2000s, human skulls with an age of 1.8 million years were also discovered.

At the time, the Dmanisi discoveries, the earliest of their kind discovered outside of Africa, altered our collective understanding of the early human migration and evolution. This new discovery of this unique tooth strengthens the case for the theory that the area was the site of one of the oldest prehistoric human settlements in Europe, if not the world outside of Africa.

The 1.8m-year-old tooth found near Orozmani, Georgia. Photograph: David Chkhikvishvili/Reuters

The tooth, according to Giorgi Bidzinashvili, may have belonged to a "relative" of Zezva and Mzia, the names given to the 1.8 million year old petrified Dmanisi skulls. The tooth was found along side stone tools used by Homo erectus as well as the remains of extinct animals were discovered at the site where excavations have been taking place since last year.