Possible New Human Ancestor Discovered

[n2doc]

Two 1.9 million-year-old skeletons found in a South African cave have added a new and intriguing member to the primate family.

Dubbed Australopithecus sediba, it has many features — including long legs and a protruding nose — common to Homo, the genus that eventually spawned humans. Other features, such as extra-long forearms and flexible feet, date from deep in our primate past.

Paleontologists disagree over whether A. sediba is a direct human ancestor, or just looks like one. But whatever their lineage, the fossils provide rare insight into a period shrouded in paleontological mystery.

“We feel that A. sediba might be a Rosetta Stone for defining for the first time what the genus Homo is,” said paleontologist Lee Berger of the University of Witwatersrand. “They’re going to be a remarkable window, a time machine.”



Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/04/australopithecus-sediba/

[theoldman]

1. This is a very lucky find because there are several skeletons.

During my lifetime we have gone from next to nothing to several of our ancestors. I am certain that many more will be found in years to come.

[applegrove]

2. Cool!

[n2doc]

3. kick n/t

[steven johnson]

4. The name is a sumerian pun

The name itself represents a perhaps humorous double meaning in terms of scientific theory and religious beliefs. In the local language Sotho "sediba" means "spring." However, many note its close similarity to the word "sebida", which means "sin" in Sumerian. In Sumerian "sebida" refers, more specifically, "a religious sin that entails the anger of the gods and a stain upon the soul." To some, that's exactly what the new skeletons represent, and perhaps researchers thus used the name to both describe what they feel the skeletons represent (the "spring" from which man sprung) and to poke a bit of fun at these in the public who are abandoning the scientific process.


"Sinful" Missing Human Evolutionary Ancestor Discovered in Africa

[Soylent Brice]

5. K&R

neat find!