New Fossils Discovered in SA

New Fossils Discovered in SA

An entirely new hominid species has been unearthed in South Africa by Professor Lee Berger and colleagues at the University of the Witwatersrand. The almost complete skeletons were discovered near the Cradle of Mankind, a World Heritage Site.

Eighty-five years ago, a South African scientist from the University of the Witwatersrand – Professor Raymond Dart – identified the first early human ancestor to be discovered in Africa. This discovery, "the Taung child", has become an iconic image of our ancient past on this continent.

In 1947, Dr Robert Broom and Professor John Robinson discovered the famous "Mrs Ples" at the Sterkfontein caves. This primitive human-like creature lived more than two million years ago. Forty years after the discovery of "Mrs Ples", Professor Ron Clarke with the assistance of Pologo Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe, made the amazing find of the 4.1 million year old "Little Foot", the first almost complete hominid fossil skeleton.

In addition to hominid evolution, South Africa has the oldest evidence of life on Earth, extending over 3 billion years, as well as the most complete record of mammal ancestry, extending over 80 million years.

Source: The Presidency, South Africa

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