Fossil Find May Be 'Missing Link' in Human Evolution (Again? Yawn)

Fox News ^ | 04/05/2010

[SeekAndFind]

A fossil skeleton of a child discovered in a cave system known as the Cradle of Humankind may represent a previously unknown stage in the evolution of man, The (London) Sunday Times reported.

The skeleton, which is almost complete despite being two million years old, is believed to belong to one of the hominid groups that includes humans.

Hominid fossil finds are usually little more than small bone fragments. Scientists hope such a complete find will help them to work out what our ancestors looked like and to determine key dates in their evolution from ape-man to man-ape. Experts who have seen the skeleton says it resembles Homo habilis, the first species of advanced human.

The skeleton was found by Professor Lee Berger, reader in human evolution and the public understanding of science at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, as he explored cave systems in Sterkfontein, a Unesco world heritage site.

The caves are the site of one of the world’s longest-running archeological excavations and are regarded as paleontological treasure troves. Jacob Zuma, the South African president, visited the university to view the find, which is to be announced this week.

The new fossil skeleton was found with a number of other partially complete fossils, encased within breccia sedimentary rock inside a limestone cave known as Malapa cave.

[SeekAndFind]

A replica of a Homo habilis skull discovered at Koobi Fora, in Kenya. A newly discovered skeleton reportedly resembles Homo habilis.

[Puppage]

Insert Helen Thomas picture here:

[SeekAndFind]

For history buffs, here is an article from the New York Times, Dec 1912 entitled :

DARWIN THEORY IS PROVED TRUE; English Scientists Say the Skull Found in Sussex Establishes Human Descent from Apes.

LONDON, Dec. 21. -- A race of apelike and speechless men, inhabiting England hundreds of thousands of years ago, when they had for their neighbors the mastodon and other animals now extinct, is the missing link in the chain in man's evolution, which leading scientists say they have discovered in what is generally described as "the Sussex skull." [ END OF FIRST PARAGRAPH ]

Click on the above link for the entire article in PDF format.

[SeekAndFind]

Insert Helen Thomas picture here:

I will Oblige:

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Let me guess, another homo sapiens sapiens with severe arthritis?

[Tarpon]

Is the hole where the horn broke off?

[SeekAndFind]

The Evolution of Helen Thomas

[Dallas59]

Can I post jokes about the president on this thread?/s

[SeekAndFind]

Suit yourself. But this thread is all about the curious case of the devolution of Helen Thomas :

[Waverunner]

[Sacajaweau]

We need more grant money to get rid of the maybe

Man can be such a jerk sometimes...so arrogant...Let's see him make a human being "out of nothing"...OR ANYTHING LIVING FOR THAT MATTER....

[SeekAndFind]

In fairness, we should note that the headline writer put the phrase ‘missing link’ in quotes, suggesting that he or she recognized it as a bit of a cliché.

Excerpt: Some scientists have proposed moving this species (habilis) out of Homo and into Australopithecus (ape) due to the morphology of its skeleton being more adapted to living on trees rather than to moving on two legs like Homo sapiens.

See here :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution#Genus_Homo

So, I’m not sure how an ape fossil can be used as evidence that humans came from apes unless of course you already “know” that humans came from apes and evidence doesn’t really matter one way or the other.

[sheik yerbouty]

An 0bama family relic?

[SeekAndFind]

An 0bama family relic?

Well, it was found in Kenya for one. But I don't want to push this joke too far as liberals who wander through this site might have an excuse to use the "R" word again.

[sheik yerbouty]

Yes. Then again, any criticism of The Master of Disaster, The Ayatollah of All Crapola, will have that card thrown at him..

[mountainlion]

What if apes devolved form early demorats?

[April Lexington]

Kenya? More likely a Kenyan Republican who got in the way of a certain dictator...

[April Lexington]

At the risk of being banned from Free Republic for eternity... shed 60 lbs, Helen, and you’d be something to look at!

[April Lexington]

See! I knew it! 80 years of being a liberal will make you look like the Missing Link!

[GonzoGOP]

The new missing link is believed to be an intermediate stage between Piltdown Man and ManBearPig. It is believed that it went extinct due to DDT and Global Warming.