Major new fossil find in South Africa‎

[Erna]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1263488/Missing-link-evolutionary-chain-resolved-new-species-discovered-cradle-humanity.html?ITO=1490

Scientists discover 'missing link between man and apes'

The discovery of a 'missing link' between man and apes could revolutionise our understanding of how we evolved, scientists say.

They believe the two-million-year-old fossilised skeleton of a child, found in South Africa, is that of an entirely new species and an intermediate stage between our ape-like ancestors and modern man.

And they claim it could help us crack one of the great mysteries of our evolutionary tree - exactly when humans began to walk on two feet.

While most finds are little more than scattered fragments of bone or teeth, the latest discovery is an almost complete skeleton.

The bones were found in the Malapa Cave in the Sterkfontein region of South Africa by Professor Lee Berger, of Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

The caves were made a Unesco world heritage site in 1994 after an almost complete fossil of a 3.3million-year-old Australopithecus was found there.

Professor Phillip Tobias, an anthropologist at the university, said that the discovery was a 'wonderful and exciting' find. 'To find a skeleton as opposed to a couple of teeth or an arm bone is a rarity,' he said.

'It is one thing to find a lower jaw with a couple of teeth, but it is another thing to find the jaw joined on to the skull, and those in turn uniting further down with the spinal column, pelvis and the limb bones.'

The discovery, along with a number of other partially complete fossils, could now help scientists understand how our ancestors evolved from the apelike Australopithecus, which emerged in Africa around 3.9million years ago, to Homo habilis, the first human-type species which appeared around 2.5million years ago.

The skeleton, which will be unveiled on Thursday and has already been visited by the country's president Jacob Zuma, is believed to be an evolutionary intermediate between these two species.

It includes a pelvis and whole limbs which could reveal whether the new species walked upright or on all fours.

Hand bones could also say how dextrous the species was and give researchers the first clue as to when humans' ability to hold stone tools first emerged.

Dr Simon Underdown, an expert in evolution from Oxford Brookes University, said: 'A find like this could really increase our understanding of our early ancestors.'

 

[Leo40]

Are you trying to entertain us with fiction?

 

[anart]

Re: Major new fossil find in South Africa‎

Are you trying to entertain us with fiction?

Can you please clarify this enigmatic remark, Leo40?

 

[Leo40]

After reading Cremo's "Forbidden Archaeology" I consider Darwinism as entertaining fiction.

 

[Laura]

After reading Cremo's "Forbidden Archaeology" I consider Darwinism as entertaining fiction.

That's a big 10-4. But the remark could have been expanded for the sake of the person you made it to as well as other readers who may not have the same grasp of the issue that you have.

 

[anart]

Re: Major new fossil find in South Africa‎

That's a big 10-4. But the remark could have been expanded for the sake of the person you made it to as well as other readers who may not have the same grasp of the issue that you have.

That's exactly the point. Your post, Leo40, was the epitome of inner considering. You wrote it for no one other than yourself. This is unfortunate because, had you taken the time to expand on why this fossil discovery (which has yet to even be fully explored or examined at this stage) is likely not what it is presented to be - and certainly not in objective historical context - then some alternative light would have been shed on the article. That would have actually helped others instead of just yourself.

Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[Leo40]

That's a big 10-4. But the remark could have been expanded for the sake of the person you made it to as well as other readers who may not have the same grasp of the issue that you have.

That's exactly the point. Your post, Leo40, was the epitome of inner considering. You wrote it for no one other than yourself.
Hopefully that makes sense.

Yes, it makes sense. I was merely surprised to find this article and tried to figure out why it was posted. My intent was to
stimulate questioning. I am always astonished whenever the subject comes up in spite of countless studies that show the enormous holes in this so called theory.

 

[Laura]

We post article all the time for the sake of discussion. A new hominid find is, to me, furiously interesting even if I don't think it is the "missing link"!