Thus , the genus `` Homo '' either split off from the genus `` Australopithecus '' at an earlier date ( the latest common ancestor being either `` A. afarensis '' or an even earlier form , possibly `` Kenyanthropus '' ) , or both developed from a yet possibly unknown common ancestor independently .
Thus , the genus `` Homo '' either split off from the genus `` Australopithecus '' at an earlier date ( the latest common ancestor being `` A. afarensis '' or an even earlier form , possibly `` Kenyanthropus platyops '' ) , or both developed from a yet possibly unknown common ancestor independently .