‘Missing link’ bones found

BONES from a 1.7 million-year-old “missing link” bridging the gap between ape-like pre-humans and the ancestors of people living today have been unearthed in Europe.

A partial skeleton, parts of limbs and feet and skull fragments of at least four of the creatures were discovered at Dmanisi in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Scientists yesterday said they displayed a “mosaic” of primitive and more advanced features, suggesting a transitional stage in the complex story of human evolution.

The Dmanisi hominins, so far not assigned to any particular species, are the earliest members of the ‘Homo’ family which eventually gave rise to modern humans found outside Africa.

They appear to possess features of both the primitive ape-like Australopithecines and the far more human-like Homo erectus — thought to be the direct ancestor of our own species, Homo sapiens.

Australopithecines, which emerged in Africa, were small, had brains only slightly larger than those of chimpanzees, large teeth and jaws and long, ape-like arms.

The Dmanisi finds were described today in the journal Nature by an international team of scientists.

Their advanced characteristics included modern limb proportions geared towards walking and running on two legs, and arched feet.

Also writing in Nature, Dr Daniel Lieberman, from Harvard University said he believed the Dmanisi hominids were closely related to early African Homo erectus.