Mankind took longer to evolve than we previously thought.

A GW researcher was part of a team in Ethiopia that found the groundbreaking evidence. The team’s paper, which came out in the latest issue of the journal “Science” on Thursday, claims that a mandible discovered by a graduate student at Arizona State University pre-dates any other found fossil of the modern human species by about 400,000 years.

David Braun, an associate professor of anthropology at GW, conducted archaeological research for the project.

Bernard Wood, a professor of human origins at GW, said the development means humans are nearly 500,000 years older than researchers previously thought. The discovery pushes the start date for modern humans to about 2.8 million years ago.

GW’s researchers are no strangers to prominent archaeological discoveries. James Clark, a professor of biology, discovered the world’s oldest pterodactyl, and Eric Cline, a professor of archaeology, led a team that discovered the world’s oldest wine cellar last year.