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Petite skull reopens human ancestry debate 18:47 01 July 04 NewScientist.com news service The remnants of a remarkably petite skull belonging to one of the first human ancestors to walk on two legs have revealed the great physical diversity among these prehistoric populations. But whether the species Homo erectus, meaning "upright man", should be reclassified into several distinct species remains controversial. Richard Potts, from the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, and colleagues discovered numerous pieces of a single skull in the Olorgesailie valley, in southern Kenya, between June and August 2003. The bones...

Scientists taking a fresh look at a celebrated find of apeman remains in South Africa say they are convinced it is around four million years old, a discovery that will reshape our knowledge about the possible forerunners of human beings. The researchers have applied new dating techniques to "Little Foot," a remarkably intact Australopithecus skeleton which is the star of the Sterkfontein caves - a treasure trove of fossils about 50 kilometre north-west of Johannesburg. A two-footed creature with ape-like facial features, Australopithecus was a species of hominid that lived several million years ago and may have been the ancestor...