Et in suburbia ego

It is curious that the remains of our ancestor – if such he be – were found beside a swimming pool within easy reach of Pyrgos Vasilissis station in the suburbs of Athens. Graecopithecus freybergi might have slogged home under a hot sun before relaxing over an Ouzo-peponi Martini with Mrs Graecopithecus at the poolside. But perhaps seven million years ago there was no swimming pool, no suburban railway and even no Martini. It was tough on those savannahs – for the scientists insist that savannahs stretched in those days across that awkward stretch of water, the Mediterranean. It may yet be premature to settle our ancestor firmly in commuting distance of the Acropolis, as all that’s left of him is a bit of jaw – and one tooth from a cousin in Bulgaria. Some might still prefer an ancestor out of Africa rather than suburbia.