Photograph and three-dimensional reconstruction of Ishango left upper first molar (#Ish25).

<p>Upper part, from top to bottom: buccal, mesial, occlusal, lateral and lingual views. Scale bar = 1 cm. Lower part, three-dimensional model of the outer enamel surface (left) and the enamel-dentine junction (right).</p

Stratigraphic section of Ishango 11 at the junction of de Heinzelin’s trenches (modified from [31]). See Text S1.2 and Figure S2 (in File S1) for the detailed description of the lithology.

<p>ZPEm = Post-Emersion Zone; N.TUF = Tuffaceous Levels; SD-SFM = Hardened Sand - Fine Micaceous Sand, NFPr = Principal Fossiliferous Level, G.INF = Inferior Gravels, Lusso = Lusso Beds, R = Recent, TP = Museya Gravels Formations, TT = Ishango Gravels Formation, L = Lusso Formation.</p

Average Raman spectra of three teeth from the NFPr layer, and of #Ish25.

<p>Average Raman spectra of three teeth from the NFPr layer, and of #Ish25.</p

Geographic locations of Ishango and other African localities of early hominins fossils from the Plio-Pleistocene transition period, ca. 2.6–1.8 Ma (<i>i.e. Au. africanus, Au. garhi, Au. sediba, H. habilis, H. rudolfensis, P. aethiopicus, P. boisei, P. robustus</i>).

<p>Outlined in bold are the western and eastern branches of the African Rift. 1: Taung (South Africa); 2: Drimolen, Gladysvale, Gondolin, Kromdraai, Sterkfontein & Swartkrans (South Africa); 3: Malapa (South Africa); 4: Malema, Uraha (Malawi); 5: Olduvai (Tanzania); 6: Chemeron (Kenya); 7: West and East Turkana, Koobi Fora (Kenya); 8: Omo (Ethiopia); 9: Bouri, Hadar (Ethiopia).</p