‘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.