2 Million yr old humanoid found - Cool Skull

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/a4356bf50dae330c.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/5c1fe885005f9565.jpg[/atsimg]

That is a 2 million year old Australopithecus sediba, an important ape that helped form the human race! Here is some info from the CNN article:
www.cnn.com...

A team of researchers working in South Africa has unearthed what they believe are the remains of a previously unknown species predating modern humans. They recently discovered a couple of partial skeletons -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- that are nearly 2 million years old.

The two are believed to have been significantly taller and potentially stronger than "Lucy," the roughly 3 million year old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

Known as "Australopithecus sediba," the pair may provide a window into a previously little-defined period in human evolution.

"Australopithecus" means "southern ape," the researchers noted. "Sediba" refers to a "natural spring" or "fountain" in Sotho, a local language in South Africa.

Here is some information on the "Australopithecus" from wiki:
en.wikipedia.org...

The australopiths played a significant part in human evolution as it was one of the australopith species that eventually evolved into the Homo genus in Africa around 2 million years ago, which contained within it species like Homo ergaster, Homo habilis and eventually the modern human species, Homo sapiens.[1]

And Ms. Ples, who appeared in a recent board here is related to this find. Here is a great quote from that previous board:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by berenike
Here is some information on 'Mrs Ples' another individual featured in the exhibition:

www.ambafrance-rsa.org...

Mrs Ples - who might have been an adolescent male - is a distant relative of all humankind. Australopithecus africanus became extinct between 2.1 and 2.2 million years ago, and Mrs Ples is the last recorded occurrence of the species.
At the opening of the exhibition Prof Yves Coppens, honorary patron of the exhibition and co-discoverer of Lucy, a three million year-old Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in 1974, said: "Thanks to the Taung Child, the first fossil specimen to represent Australopithecus, and Mrs Ples, we know that pre-humanity has been African and only African. Humanity has a uniquely African origin."

Skull together with reconstruction featured in the above article:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cd339a2bc939.jpg[/atsimg]

Here is the reconstruction on display at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum (as shown in the Daily Mail article):
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2f130343796d.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 24-3-2010 by berenike]

And here is my comparison of a bonobo chimpanzee and ms. ples.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/9db9732ef1c1c633.jpg[/atsimg]




[edit on 8-4-2010 by BeastMaster2012]

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/a4356bf50dae330c.jpg[/atsimg]
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/5c1fe885005f9565.jpg[/atsimg]

That is a 2 million year old Australopithecus sediba, an important ape that helped form the human race! Here is some info from the CNN article:
www.cnn.com...

A team of researchers working in South Africa has unearthed what they believe are the remains of a previously unknown species predating modern humans. They recently discovered a couple of partial skeletons -- an adult female and a juvenile male -- that are nearly 2 million years old.

The two are believed to have been significantly taller and potentially stronger than "Lucy," the roughly 3 million year old skeleton discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.

Known as "Australopithecus sediba," the pair may provide a window into a previously little-defined period in human evolution.

"Australopithecus" means "southern ape," the researchers noted. "Sediba" refers to a "natural spring" or "fountain" in Sotho, a local language in South Africa.

Here is some information on the "Australopithecus" from wiki:
en.wikipedia.org...

The australopiths played a significant part in human evolution as it was one of the australopith species that eventually evolved into the Homo genus in Africa around 2 million years ago, which contained within it species like Homo ergaster, Homo habilis and eventually the modern human species, Homo sapiens.[1]

And Ms. Ples, who appeared in a recent board here is related to this find. Here is a great quote from that previous board:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by berenike
Here is some information on 'Mrs Ples' another individual featured in the exhibition:

www.ambafrance-rsa.org...

Mrs Ples - who might have been an adolescent male - is a distant relative of all humankind. Australopithecus africanus became extinct between 2.1 and 2.2 million years ago, and Mrs Ples is the last recorded occurrence of the species.
At the opening of the exhibition Prof Yves Coppens, honorary patron of the exhibition and co-discoverer of Lucy, a three million year-old Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in 1974, said: "Thanks to the Taung Child, the first fossil specimen to represent Australopithecus, and Mrs Ples, we know that pre-humanity has been African and only African. Humanity has a uniquely African origin."

Skull together with reconstruction featured in the above article:
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cd339a2bc939.jpg[/atsimg]

Here is the reconstruction on display at the Senckenberg Natural History Museum (as shown in the Daily Mail article):
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2f130343796d.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 24-3-2010 by berenike]

And here is my comparison of a bonobo chimpanzee and ms. ples.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/9db9732ef1c1c633.jpg[/atsimg]




[edit on 8-4-2010 by BeastMaster2012]

So this is just Chimp's skull huh

no it's not a chimp skull, i just noticed that the reconstruction looked amazingly similar to a Bonobo Chimpanzee.

If you don't know much about the Bonobos, they are the more human like chimpanzee. It is just interesting that the reconstruction looked very close to a photo i took of a bonobo.

Also, you have to consider how close we are to chimps, so our ancient relatives could have definitely looked like a chimp.

edit: Mods, if you think this should be in another board feel free to move it, maybe fragile earth? I just thought of it.

[edit on 8-4-2010 by BeastMaster2012]

The above topic has already been posted.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

So what they discovered a chimp skull! It seem a big leap of faith too say it is a human ancestor.

[edit on 8-4-2010 by MOTT the HOOPLE]

Looks like a Chimp skull to me too.

That'd make a kick-ass cereal bowl.

Um...is it me, or in one of those photos...does it sorta look like a fossilized head wearing a skull helmet?
Freaky.

S+F for title alone!

It's a pretty impressive story but as already stated it looks pretty much like a chimp skull.

-m0r

Looks like a Australopithecine skull to me
Cranial capacity: 350 cc – 600 cc
Postcanine dentition relatively large, enamel thickened compared to contemporary apes and humans
Incisors and canine relatively small, little sexual dimorphism in canines compared to modern apes
tolweb.org...

These bipedal hominoids were around from 4.2 million years ago and then became extinct around 1.4 Million years ago. These have been found before, so not sure why anyone would say its a chimp. The australopithecine diversified into several sub groups, so also not surprising that another has possibly been identified.

There is debate on whether Habilis can be classified as australopithecine, either way, great news on the find

Fail.

Sorry.

[edit on 9-4-2010 by Wide-Eyes]