The missing link between ape and man was finally found. This is a new species of hominid, a child, whose remains will be shown for the first time Thursday. The new species is placed developmentally and temporally between Australopithecus found in Africa 3.9 million years ago, and Homo habilis, our ancestor 2.5 million years ago.
The new species does not have a name. Author of the discovery was the South African Lee Berger of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg Malacapa Cave, Sterkfontein in South Africa. The area is called the "cradle of humanity." Professor Berger and his colleagues have not yet made statements on the extent of their discovery, but in the community International, writes in the British press, the expectation is very high. It is believed that if the discovery really fill some gaps in the evolutionary chain, the entire history of evolution could be integrated in a meaningful way.
Remains of similar species were already found in the past but has always treated the discovery of bone fragments. Experts who have seen the skeleton of the child, the Daily Mail reported today in London, say that presents characteristics of Homo habilis, and said it could shed light on the period when our ancestors began walking upright. Professor Phillip Tobias, an anthropologist who was among the first to identify a species as Homo habilis human in 1964, celebrated the discovery as "wonderful" and "exciting." "Finding a complete skeleton, instead of a couple of teeth or bone of an arm, is a rarity," said Professor Tobias of the Daily Telegraph. "One thing is to find a jaw with a pair of teeth, another to find a jaw attached to a skull, and both attached to a spine, a hip and pelvic bones."
The skeleton was found in a limestone quarry, which is believed to have protected the remains from the elements and they have preserved intact.
The new species does not have a name. Author of the discovery was the South African Lee Berger of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg Malacapa Cave, Sterkfontein in South Africa. The area is called the "cradle of humanity." Professor Berger and his colleagues have not yet made statements on the extent of their discovery, but in the community International, writes in the British press, the expectation is very high. It is believed that if the discovery really fill some gaps in the evolutionary chain, the entire history of evolution could be integrated in a meaningful way.
Remains of similar species were already found in the past but has always treated the discovery of bone fragments. Experts who have seen the skeleton of the child, the Daily Mail reported today in London, say that presents characteristics of Homo habilis, and said it could shed light on the period when our ancestors began walking upright. Professor Phillip Tobias, an anthropologist who was among the first to identify a species as Homo habilis human in 1964, celebrated the discovery as "wonderful" and "exciting." "Finding a complete skeleton, instead of a couple of teeth or bone of an arm, is a rarity," said Professor Tobias of the Daily Telegraph. "One thing is to find a jaw with a pair of teeth, another to find a jaw attached to a skull, and both attached to a spine, a hip and pelvic bones."
The skeleton was found in a limestone quarry, which is believed to have protected the remains from the elements and they have preserved intact.
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