Agnostic Mom

To be sure I am scientifically accurate, and that I don’t lead you to a mistaken belief of absolutes as the media often does, let me preface this paleoanthropological announcement with a loud disclaimer: the following announcement is still in the process of study. It is not yet for sure (notice my question mark in the post title).

The announcement, thanks to Panda’s Thumb:

Scientists doing work in Ethiopia have discovered the skull of what seems to be a new hominid, previously unknown. It appears to fit somewhere between the earlier homo erectus and current homo sapiens, and should give us an idea of how humans developed.

The original press release explains the significance of this find:

The Gawis cranium comes from a time of transition to modern humans from African Homo erectus that is poorly known. The fossil record from Africa for this period is sparse and most of the specimens are poorly dated. The few fossil crania that are known from the Middle Pleistocene of Africa present a narrow view of the range of potential anatomical variation during this period. The Gawis cranium provides us with the opportunity to look at the face of one of our ancestors. Additionally, this fossil links us with the past by showing a face that is recognizably different and more primitive than ours. The face and cranium of this remarkable fossil are recognizably different from that of modern humans but it bears unmistakable anatomical evidence that it belongs to our ancestry. The form of the face and the brain are among the best means for exploring the evolutionary path of humans and the Gawis cranium preserves both areas. Work is in progress by the Gona team to determine the age of the cranium and associated archaeology, and to understand its evolutionary relationships with others known during the Pleistocene. Semaw concluded by saying that “I am happy that the Gona project succeeded to make a new hominid discovery from this least known time period in human evolution.