New fossils reveal different theory on human ancestors
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/08/09/kenya.fossils.reut.reut/index.html#cnnSTCText
NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- The skull of a female Homo erectus -- the first-ever discovery -- suggests the upright ancestors of humans may have been physiologically closer to modern gorillas and chimpanzees.
Frederick Kyalo Manthi holds the Homo erectus complete skull he discovered in 2000 near lake Turkana in Kenya.
more photos ยป Homo erectus, long viewed as a crucial evolutionary link between modern humans and their tree-dwelling ancestors, may have been more ape-like than previously thought, scientists said Thursday.
Unveiling newfound fossils, a team of Kenyan scientists said they were surprised to find that early female hominids were much smaller than males. Gorillas and chimpanzees also exhibit big differences in size between males and females.
The fossils, an ancient skull and a jawbone from two early branches of the human family tree -- Homo erectus and Homo habilis, were revealed at Kenya's National Museum.
Both fossils were found in 2000 east of Lake Turkana. But the Homo erectus skull, dating back 1.55 million years, was slightly older than the Homo habilis jawbone, which was found to be 1.44 million years old, the scientists said.
"Prior to the discovery of the new specimens, scientists did not know that Homo erectus males were far larger than the females," said Dr Emma Mbua, one of the team.
"This sexual dimorphism is considered a primitive character because it occurs in other apes," she said, standing in front of the bones at the museum.
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