Giday WoldeGabriel and his team had begun the mission of a lifetime. Trekking through the desert for 10-14 hours a day, they had unearthed a promising find. Their treasure? Remains of the oldest known humans. The challenge? To prove the fossils' age beyond doubt.

Over five years, the team reassembled the bones and hunted for clues that would reveal the fossils' true age. Volcanic ash and electron microprobe analysis finally gave the needed proof: these actually were the oldest known near-modern humans.