Australopithecus sediba : A New Species of Homo -Like Australopith from South Africa

2010/04/08 by Lee R. Berger, Darryl J. de Ruiter, Steven E. Churchill +4 · 19 citations
Social Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1184944

openalex publication_date 2010/04/08 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Despite a rich African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossil record, the ancestry of Homo and its relation to earlier australopithecines remain unresolved. Here we report on two partial skeletons with an age of 1.95 to 1.78 million years. The fossils were encased in cave deposits at the Malapa site in South Africa. The skeletons were found close together and are directly associated with craniodental remains. Together they represent a new species of Australopithecus that is probably descended from Australopithecus africanus. Combined craniodental and postcranial evidence demonstrates that this new species shares more derived features with early Homo than any other australopith species and thus might help reveal the ancestor of that genus.

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