"An international team of scientists announced the discovery Thursday of a new species of hominin, a small creature with a tiny brain that opens the door to a new way of thinking about our ancient ancestors.
The discovery of 15 individuals, consisting of 1,550 bones, represents the largest fossil hominin find on the African continent.
"We found adults and children in the cave who are members of genus Homo but very different from modern humans," said CU Denver Associate Professor of Anthropology Charles Musiba, PhD, who took part in a press conference Thursday near the discovery inside the Rising Star Cave in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site outside Johannesburg, South Africa. "They are very petite and have the brain size of chimpanzees. The only thing similar we know of are the so-called `hobbits' of Flores Island in Indonesia."
Homofloresiensis or Flores Man was discovered in 2003. Like this latest finding, it stood 3.5 five feet high and seems to have existed relatively recently though the exact age is unknown.
Caley Orr, PhD, an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, analyzed the fossil hands.
"The hand has human-like features for manipulation of objects and curved fingers that are well adapted for climbing," Orr said. "But its exact position on our family tree is still unknown."…"
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Amicalement
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paints a legend from the Trojan Wars.
