Human ancestors used different forms of bipedalism

According to a new study, our Australopithecus ancestors may have used different approaches to getting around on two feet. The new findings, co-authored by Boston University researchers Jeremy DeSilva , assistant professor of anthropology, and Kenneth Holt, assistant professor of physical therapy, appear in the latest issue of the journal Science in an article titled "The Lower Limb and Mechanics of Walking in Australopithecus sediba." The paper is one of six published this week in Science that represent the culmination of more than four years of research into the anatomy of Australopithecus sediba (Au. sediba). The two-million-year-old fossils, discovered in Malapa cave in South Africa in 2008, are some of the most complete early human ancestral remains ever discovered.

New species of primate from 35 mln years ago found in Spain

A new species of primate from 35 million years ago has been discovered by researchers with the Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Michel Crusafont (Icp) in Sossis, in the area of Pallars Jussa' in the Llerida province.

Scientists provide more accurate age for the El Sidron cave Neanderthals

A study has been able to accurately determine the age of the Neanderthal remains found in the El Sidrón cave (Asturias, Spain) for which previous studies had provided inexact measurements. The application of a pre-treatment to reduce contamination by modern carbon has managed to lower the margin of error from 40,000 to just 3,200 years.

'Out of Africa' Story Being Rewritten Again

Our early human ancestors may have left Africa more recently than thought, between 62,000 and 95,000 years ago, suggests a new analysis of genetic material from fossil skeletons.

Trove of Neanderthal Bones Found in Greek Cave

By Charles Choi, LiveScience Contributor

A trove of Neanderthal fossils including bones of children and adults, discovered in a cave in Greece hints the area may have been a key crossroad for ancient humans, researchers say.

Skulls of early humans carry telltale signs of inbreeding, study suggests

Buried for 100,000 years at Xujiayao in the Nihewan Basin of northern China, the recovered skull pieces of an early human exhibit a now-rare congenital deformation that indicates inbreeding might well have been common among our ancestors, new research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Washington University in St. Louis suggests.

Fossil human traces line to modern Asians

Researchers have been able to trace a line between some of the earliest modern humans to settle in China and people living in the region today.

Lucy

Lucy revealed

Anthropologist Donald Johanson and student Tom Gray were working as part of an expedition to survey the fossil-rich Hadar Formation in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia. Re-checking a gully on a hunch, Gray noticed an arm-bone fragment. A hurried search soon revealed more bone. The whole expedition was diverted to the site, and for the next three weeks the area was combed for fossil bone. On the first night after the initial discovery, the Beatles’ hit Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was playing loudly on a tape-recorder in the camp, so the fossil hominin was nicknamed Lucy. Her scientific name is AL 288-1.

Early Humans Ventured Far North

by Michael Balter on 7 July 2010, 1:06 PM
Researchers working on England's North Sea coast have uncovered flint tools dated to at least 780,000 years ago, the earliest evidence of prehistoric humans this far north. The discovery suggests that early humans might have been better adapted to cold climates than previously thought, although some scientists are skeptical.

Oldest Skeleton of Lucy's Species Unveiled

by Ann Gibbons on 22 June 2010, 2:56 PM
Researchers have unveiled the second oldest skeleton of a possible human ancestor, a 3.6-million-year-old male of the species Australopithecus afarensis. The roughly 40% complete skeleton has been nicknamed Kadanuumuu, which means "big man" in the Afar language of the Afar Depression of Ethiopia where it was found. "It was huge—a big man, with long legs," says lead author Yohannes Haile-Selassie, a paleoanthropologist at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Ohio.